THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


THE 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    STORMS. 


Br  JAMES  P.  ESPY,  A.  M. 

MEMBER    OF    THE     AMERICAN     PHILOSOPHICAL     SOCIETY,    AND     CORRESPONDING     MEMBER    OF 
THE    NATIONAL    INSTITUTION,   WASHINGTON. 


Felix  qui  potuit  reruin  cognoscere  causas. —  Virgil. 


BOSTON: 

CHARLES  C.  LITTLE  AND  JAMES  BROWN. 


MDCCCXLI. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  by 

JAMES  P.  Espy, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED    BY    FREEMAN    AND    BOLLES 
WASHINGTON     STREET. 


PREFACE. 


IT  is  now  about  thirteen  years  since  I  became  acquainted 
with  Dalton's  experiments  on  the  aqueous  vapor  which  ex- 
ists in  the  atmosphere.  I  was  much  struck  with  one  of  his 
results;  namely,  that  the  quantity  of  vapor  in  weight,  ex- 
isting at  any  time  in  a  given  space,  could  be  determined 
with  great  accuracy  in  a  few  minutes,  by  means  of  a  ther- 
mometer and  a  tumbler  of  water  cold  enough  to  condense 
on  its  outside  a  portion  of  the  vapor  in  the  air.  It  occurred 
to  me  at  once,  that  this  was  the  lever  with  which  the  mete- 
orologist was  to  move  the  world. 

I  immediately  commenced  the  study  and  examination  of 
atmospheric  phenomena,  determined  to  discover,  if  possible, 
what  connection  there  is  between  rain  and  the  quantity  of 
vapor,  in  the  atmosphere ;  but  the  more  facts  I  collected, 
whether  from  my  own  observations  or  from  those  of  others, 
the  more  contradictory  and  perplexing  they  became.  It 
had  been  long  known  that  vapor  is  lighter  than  air,  and  it 
was  inferred  from  this,  that  when  a  portion  of  atmospheric 
vapor  is  condensed  into  cloud,  the  air  in  the  cloud  becomes 
specifically  heavier  than  it  was  before.  This  doctrine  I  re- 
ceived as  an  axiom,  and  I  never  for  a  moment  doubted  it, 
until  it  occurred  to  me  to  calculate  the  effect  which  the  evo- 
lution of  the  latent  caloric  produces,  during  the  formation  of 
the  cloud. 


^•?l£     -f^  'S.  •'  H- 


IV  PREFACE. 

The  result  was  an  instantaneous  transition  from  darkness 
to  light.  The  moment  I  saw  that  a  rapidly  forming  cloud 
is  specifically  lighter  in  proportion  as  it  becomes  darker,  a 
thousand  contradictions  vanished,  and  the  numerous  facts, 
"a  rude  and  undigested  mass,"  which  had  been  stowed  a  way 
in  the  secret  recesses  of  my  memory,  presented  themselves 
spontaneously  to  my  delighted  mind,  as  a  harmonious  sys- 
tem of  fair  proportion.  It  is  a  most  fortunate  circumstance 
that  the  nature  of  the  theory  detailed  in  the  first  section  is 
such  as  to  bring  order  out  of  confusion,  and,  when  the  reci- 
pient has  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  elementary 
principles  on  which  the  theory  is  founded,  to  cause  all  the 
facts,  however  irregularly  they  may  be  communicated, 
spontaneously  to  take  their  appropriate  place  in  the  system. 
Were  it  not  for  this,  I  should  fear,  that  the  immense  mass 
of  facts  detailed  in  this  volume,  if  read  at  all,  would  be  read 
to  very  little  purpose. 

I  recommend  the  reader  to  dwell  on  that  part  of  the  In- 
troduction called  the  Synopsis,  and  weigh  its  contents  care- 
fully, and  return  to  the  same  paper  after  he  shall  have  read 
the  body  of  the  work. 

When  the  summary  of  the  documents  of  the  storm  which 
took  place  on  the  26th  January,  1839,  was  written,  it  was 
done  under  the  impression  that  there  would  be  room  for  the 
original  documents  entire.  After  it  was  found  that  there 
would  not  be  room,  there  was  not  time  to  write  out  a  more 
perfect  summary.  The  documents,  however,  will  be  pre- 
served for  inspection  in  the  archives  of  the  Franklin  Insti- 
tute of  Pennsylvania. 

I  have  made  the  "Report"  of  the  French  Academy  of 
Sciences  a  part  of  my  introduction,  not  merely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  the  reader,  that  I  have  the  highest  authority 
on  my  side  —  for  I  do  not  submit  to  authority  myself — but 
to  exhibit  a  beautiful  analysis  of  my  theory,  by  three  of  the 
most  distinguished  philosophers  of  Europe. 


PREFACE.  V 

As  a  matter  of  authority,  however,  I  should  be  justified 
in  bringing  forward  this  "Report'7  to  rebut  authority.  It 
had  been  sneeringly  said  before  a  large  audience,  by  a  dis- 
tinguished Professor,  that  I  had  failed  to  convince  men  of 
science  of  the  truth  of  my  theory,  and  that  I  had  appealed 
to  the  people,  who  were  incapable  of  judging.  It  became, 
therefore,  necessary,  to  obtain  authority  against  authority. 

I  say  necessary r,  for,  if  my  doctrine  is  true,  it  is  infinitely 
useful :  and  therefore  it  became  my  duty,  for  the  sake  of 
mankind,  to  use  every  means  in  my  power  to  obtain  for  it  a 
fair  and  impartial  examination,  which  it  was  obviously  not 
likely  to  obtain,  while  it  lay  under  the  imputation  of  being 
rejected  after  examination  by  the  scientific  world.  I  hope, 
now,  that  so  far  as  authority  is  concerned,  I  stand  on  at 
least  as  high  ground  as  my  opponents.  Let  the  theory 
stand  or  fall  according  to  its  own  merits. 

I  have  also  inserted  the  opponent  authority  of  Sir  David 
Brewster.  It  would  appear,  however,  by  an  examination 
of  Sir  David's  statements,  that,  he  has  ventured  an  opinion 
in  favor  of  both  Reid's  and  Redfield's  views,  without  know- 
ing that  those  views  are  inconsistent  with  each  other.  Sir 
David  adduced  Col.  Reid's  observations  on  five  water-spouts 
as  proof  against  my  doctrine.  Now  Col.  Reid  asserted  that 
all  these  five  turned  round,  in  the  same  direction,  as  the 
hands  of  a  watch. 

Again,  Sir  David  says,  "  The  theory  of  the  rotatory  cha- 
racter of  storms,  was  first  suggested  by  Col.  Capper,  but 
we  must  claim  for  Mr.  Redfield  the  greater  honor  of  having 
fully  investigated  the  subject,  and,  apparently,  established 
the  theory  upon  an  impregnable  basis."  Surely.  Sir  David 
could  not  have  known  when  he  made  these  assertions  that 
Mr.  Redfield  insists,  in  all  his  writings,  on  this  subject,  that 
all  the  West  India  hurricanes  and  all  the  tornadoes  in  this 
quarter,  whirl  contrary  to  the  hands  of  a  watch  !  If  Col. 
Reid's  observations  prove  my  theory  false,  what  becomes 
of  Mr.  Redfield's? 


VI  PREFACE. 

One  advantage  will  most  certainly  arise  from  the  deter- 
mined opposition  which  so  many  have  manifested  to  my 
theory :  namely,  any  errors  into  which  I  may  have  fallen 
either  in  facts  or  principles,  will  be  eagerly  sought  for,  de- 
tected and  exposed,  "  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wish- 
ed." After  the  controversy  shall  be  terminated,  and  my 
system  admitted  to  take  its  place  among  the  acknowledged 
sciences,  it  will  be  time  to  write  out  a  set  of  rules  to  assist 
the  mariner  to  use  the  wind  in  storms  to  the  best  advantage. 

Indeed,  the  system  is  so  simple,  that  the  intelligent  sea- 
man, without  the  formality  of  written  rules,  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  turning  it  to  practical  account,  as  soon  as  he 
becomes  acquainted  with  it. 

"  Truth  has  less  of  trouble  and  difficulty r,  of  entanglement 
and  perplexity :  of  danger  and  hazard  in  it."1  Who,  that 
has  witnessed  it,  has  not  grieved  to  see  the  noble  mind  of 
many  a  youth,  harassed  with  the  "  entanglement  and  per- 
plexity "  of  the  old  system  !  (201)  Much  mischief  is  done 
by  teaching  a  false  system.  The  time  wasted  in  learning 
it  is  not  the  only  evil ;  by  the  fruitless  efforts  of  the  learner 
to  understand  it,  his  ardor  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  is 
damped,  and  he  insensibly  receives  the  impression  that 
there  is  little  to  choose  between  truth  and  falsehood.  But 
let  the  light  of  truth  pour  in  fresh  on  his  mind,  let  him 
penetrate  mysteries  heretofore  thought  inscrutable,  — let  him 
see  there  unnumbered  contrivances,  planned  by  infinite 
wisdom  and  infinite  goodness,  for  the  convenience  and  hap- 
piness of  man,  — let  him  see  that  rains  and  changes  of  wind 
are  not  accidental,  but  subject  to  laws  as  fixed  as  those 
which  govern  the  planetary  motions,  and  that  these  laws 
are  not  past  finding  out;  — zeal  and  animation  in  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge,  will  then  take  the  place  of  listlessness  and 
despair. 

Among  the  innumerable  benefits  arising  from  the  adoption 

1  Tillotson. 


PREFACE.  Vii 

of  a  true  system  of  meteorology,  will  be  the  death  of  super- 
stition on  this  subject.  For  example,  if  it  is  true  that  a 
great  storm,  when  once  generated,  contains  a  self-sustaining 
power,  and  continues  for  many  days  and  nights  in  succes- 
sion, terminating  in  one  place  while  it  is  beginning  in  an- 
other, the  belief  in  planetary  or  lunar  influence  in  the 
production  of  this  meteor,  being  incompatible  with  this 
single  fact,  it  will  be  abandoned  forever. 

I  owe  an  apology  to  the.  reader  for  the  frequent  repetitions 
of  the  elementary  principles  which  he  will  find  in  the  body 
of  the  work. 

My  apology,  I  trust,  will  amount  to  a  justification,  when 
it  is  known,  that  the  whole  work  is  made  up  of  parts,  writ- 
ten at  very  different  periods  of  time,  during  the  last  seven 
years,  according  as  new  storms  were  investigated,  or  new 
facts  brought  to  light. 

Now,  it  was  necessary,  that  each  of  these  parts,  which 
were  all  intended  for  separate  publication,  should  contain 
the  elementary  principles  on  which  the  explanation  of  the 
phenomena  depends,  it  follows,  either  that  the  publication 
of  the  work  should  be  delayed  to  an  unknown  period,  to 
give  time  to  remodel  the  whole,  or  that  the  original  essays 
should  be  published  entire.  After  all,  I  do  not  much  fear 
censure  on  this  point,  from  those  who  shall  read  the 
work  with  a  determination  to  understand.  With  them  the 
great  question  will  be,  is  the  theory  true  ? 

If  the  evidences  which  they  will  find  scattered  through- 
out the  work,  almost  with  the  profusion  of  nature,  though 
no  where  centred  in  one  combined  phalanx,  shall  enable 
them  to  answer  this  question  in  the  affirmative;  the  main 
purpose  for  which  the  work  was  written  will  be  accom- 
plished :  and  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  truth 
will  leave  but  little  disposition  to  look  censoriously  at  the 
mere  external  form  in  which  that  truth  is  presented. 

I  have  avoided  technical  language  in  this  work,  and  I 


VI 11  PREFACE. 

believe  there  have  been  used  only  three  terms  which  need 
explanation  even  to  the  tyro.  The  latent  caloric  of  steam,  or 
the  caloric  of  elasticity,  is  that  which  is  required  to  change 
water  from  a  fluid  to  an  elastic  gaseous  state,  without  in- 
creasing its  temperature,  and  the  latent  caloric  of  water  or 
the  caloric  of  fluidity,  is  that  which  is  absorbed  by  ice  when 
it  changes  to  water,  without  increasing  its  temperature. 
The  learner  may  understand  the  nature  of  this  latent  caloric 
in  the  following  manner. 

Suppose  a  tin  vessel  containing  a  pound  of  snow  at  the 
temperature  of  zero,  Fahr.  with  a  thermometer  in  it,  and 
the  whole  placed  over  some  regular  source  of  heat,  so  as  to 
cause  the  thermometer  to  rise  one  degree  every  second ;  at 
the  end  of  32  seconds  the  thermometer  will  be  at  32°.  Sup- 
pose now  the  caloric  to  continue  to  enter  the  vessel  with  the 
same  rapidity,  the  thermometer  will  remain  stationary  at 
32°  for  140  seconds,  and  at  the  end  of  this  time  the  snow 
will  all  be  melted.  The  caloric  which  went  into  the  snow 
to  melt  it,  is  called  140°  of  caloric  of  fluidity. 

As  soon  as  the  snow  is  all  melted,  the  thermometer  will 
begin  to  rise  again,  and  continue  to  rise  one  degree  every 
second  for  180  seconds,  provided  the  barometer  stands  at 
30  inches,  and  the  caloric  flows  in  with  the  same  velocity, 
it  will  then  be  at  the  temperature  of  212° ;  at  which  point 
it  will  stand  for  1030  seconds,  and  during  all  this  time  the 
water  will  constantly  be  changing  to  steam  or  vapor,  and  at 
the  end  of  1030  seconds  it  will  all  be  "evaporated.  The 
caloric  which  entered  the  water  during  this  change,  is  called 
the  caloric  of  elasticity. 

The  specific  caloric  of  a  body  is  its  capacity  of  being 
heated,  as  compared  to  that  of  water.  For  example ;  if  the 
same  quantity  of  caloric  which  heats  a  pound  of  water  one 
degree  will  heat  a  pound  of  air  4°,  the  specific  caloric  of  air 
is  called  0.25. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION v 

SECTION  FIRST. 
THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS  ...       1 

SECTION   SECOND. 

THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  AN  EXHIBITION  OF  ITS  POWER  IN 
EXPLAINING  PHENOMENA 38 

SECTION  THIRD. 
LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE  .  .         .     77 

SECTION  FOURTH. 
INVESTIGATION  OF  STORMS. 

Storm  of  26th  January,  1839 173 

Storm  of  15th  December,  1839 183 

SECTION  FIFTH. 

EXAMINATION   OF    REID'S,    PIDDINGTON'S,    AND    LOOMIS'S 
STORMS. 
COL.  REID'S  STORMS     .......  188 

Savannah  la  Mar  Hurricane,  3d  October,  1780  .  190 

Great  Barbadoes  Hurricane  of  October  11,  1780          .  193 
Antigua  Hurricane,  2d  August,  1837,  at  Antigua,        .  201 
a 


X  CONTENTS. 

Barbadoes  Hurricane,  26th  July,  1837       -,        .'        .  204 
Storm  of  September  3d,  1821    .      '  .-       V       .         .209 
Facts  collected  by  Mr.  Redfield,  taken  from  Silliman's 
Journal,  vol.  XX.  .         .         .        ...'       .         .218 

Facts  collected  by  Mr.  Espy,  taken  from  the  newspa- 
pers of  the  time 222 

Hurricane  of  the  middle  of  August,  1837  .         .  228 

Raleigh's  Typhoon  of  the  5th  and  6th  of  August,  1835, 

in  the  China  Sea 242 

Storm  of  18th  August,  1830 253 

Hurricane  of  1830 .255 

Documents  of  this  Storm,  collected  by  J.  P.  Espy       .  260 
An  Account  of  the  Fatal  Hurricane  by  which  Barba- 
does suffered  in  August,  1831,  by  the  Editor  of  the 

West  Indian 264 

DR.  PIDDINGTON'S  STORMS 271 

June  Storm       ...  ....  275 

September  Storm 276 

PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM  .  277 

SECTION   SIXTH. 

BRITISH  STORMS. 

Great  Liverpool  Storm  of  6th  and  7th  of  January,  1829    294 
Storm  of  17th  August,  1840 300 

SECTION    SEVENTH. 

OF  THE  TORNADO  OR  WATER-SPOUT         ....  304 

The  Brunswick  Land  Spout 309 

Observations  on  a  Hurricane  which  passed  over  Stow,  in 
Ohio,  October  20th,  1837  ;  by  Elias  Loomis,  Professor 
of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  in  Western 

Reserve  College 320 

Observations  on  the  New  Haven  Tornado,  by  Professor 

Olmsted,  of  Yale  College, 330 

Destructive  Tornado  .  335 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

The  Natchez  Tornado,  7th  May,  1840  .        '.        .  337 

Storm   at    Natchez  —  Interesting    Particulars  —  Espy's 

Theory 343 

Water  Spouts 346 

From  M.  Peltier,  on  Trombes 348 

SECTION   EIGHTH. 

OF  METEOEIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS,  .  .  .  374 

Letter  from  Professor  Silliman 385 

Letter  from  Mr.  Theron  Baldwin  .  .  .  .390 

An  Account  of  a  remarkable  Storm  which  occurred  at 

Catskill,  July  26th,  1819 396 

Notice  of  a  Hurricane  which  ravaged  the  Island  of  Ten- 

eriffe,  in  the  month  of  November,  1836  .  .  .  404 
Mr.  Alison's  Narrative  of  an  Excursion  to  the  Summit  of 

the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  in  February,  1829  .  .  410 
Moray  Floods,  3d  August,  1829 414 

SECTION  NINTH. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  THEORY,  WITH  ANSWERS. 

Professor  Olmsted's  Objections,  with  Replies  .         .  429 

Objections  of  Mr.  Graham  Hutchison,  of  Glasgow,  with 

Replies 453 

Objections  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  of  Manchester,  England  .  471 
Reply  to  Mr.  Hopkins,  by  a  gentleman  in  Liverpool  .  486 

SECTION  TENTH. 

ARTIFICIAL  RAINS 492 

Documents  referred  to  in  Article  204  ....  500 
Benjamin  Matthias,  Esq.,  to  Mr.  Espy  ....  508 
Facts  for  Mr.  Espy  .......  510 

APPENDIX. 

A.  —  Original  Documents  of  the  Great  Liverpool  Storm  of 
6th  and  7th  of  January,  1839 519 

B.  —  Documents  of  the  Storm  of  17th  of  August,  1840         .  532 


xii  CONTENTS. 

C.  —Storm  of  December  15th  and  16th,  1839       .         .         .535 

D.  —  Mr.  Espy's  Paper,  read  at  the  Meeting  of  the  British 
Association,  on  the  Diurnal  Fluctuations  of  the  Barometer  543 

Phenomena  of  an  Aurora     .....        V::^      •  545 

Charts  of  the  Fluctuations  of  the  Barometer          .         .         .  549 
On  the  Helm  Wind  of  Crossfell.     By  the  Rev.  J.  Watson. 

Eighth  Report  of  the  British  Association  ....  552 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  EVERY  beginning  is  difficult ;"  and  to  render  the  following 
work,  which  is  the  beginning  of  our  knowledge  on  the  causes  of 
storms,  the  more  easy  to  be  comprehended,  I  have  thought  proper, 
even  at  the  expense  of  much  repetition,  to  give  in  advance  a  gen- 
eral outline  of  the  whole  theory,  in  one  connected  chain  of  cause 
and  .effect,  following  nature  in  her  manner  of  operating,  in  pro- 
ducing these  meteors. 

The  paper  which  was  read  to  the  British  Association,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1840,  contains  this  outline  ;  and,  as  the  whole  work  is 
intended  both  to  develop  the  cause  of  storms,  and  to  exhibit  the 
manner  in  which,  according  to  the  strict  rules  of  induction,  the 
development  was  gradually  made,  I  present  that  paper  here,  as 
an  introduction  to  the  whole. 

Mr.  Espy's  paper  "  On  Storms,"  which  excited  much  attention, 
was  appointed  for  half  past  twelve  o'clock,  and  that  hour  having 
now  arrived,  the  President,  Professor  Forbes,  called  on  Mr.  Espy, 
who  commenced  by  stating  that  he  had  found  by  examining  simul- 
taneous observations  in  the  middle  of  storms,  and  all  round  their 
borders,  that  the  wind  blows  inward  on  all  sides  of  a  storm  to- 
wards its  central  parts  ;  towards  a  point  if  the  storm  is  round,  and 
towards  a  line,  if  the  storm  is  oblong,  extending  through  its  longest 
diameter.  Mr.  Espy  stated  that  he  had  been  able  to  investigate 
b 


VI  PREFACE. 

One  advantage  will  most  certainly  arise  from  the  deter- 
mined opposition  which  so  many  have  manifested  to  my 
theory  :  namely,  any  errors  into  which  I  may  have  fallen 
either  in  facts  or  principles,  will  be  eagerly  sought  for,  de- 
tected and  exposed,  "  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wish- 
ed.'7 After  the  controversy  shall  be  terminated,  and  my 
system  admitted  to  take  its  place  among  the  acknowledged 
sciences,  it  will  be  time  to  write  out  a  set  of  rules  to  assist 
the  mariner  to  use  the  wind  in  storms  to  the  best  advantage. 

Indeed,  the  system  is  so  simple,  that  the  intelligent  sea- 
man, without  the  formality  of  written  rules,  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  turning  it  to  practical  account,  as  soon  as  he 
becomes  acquainted  with  it. 

"  Truth  has  less  of  trouble  and  difficulty,  of  entanglement 
and  perplexity :  of  danger  and  hazard  in  it.)n  Who,  that 
has  witnessed  it,  has  not  grieved  to  see  the  noble  mind  of 
many  a  youth,  harassed  with  the  "entanglement  and  per- 
plexity "  of  the  old  system  !  (201)  Much  mischief  is  done 
by  teaching  a  false  system.  The  time  wasted  in  learning 
it  is  not  the  only  evil ;  by  the  fruitless  efforts  of  the  learner 
to  understand  it,  his  ardor  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  is 
damped,  and  he  insensibly  receives  the  impression  that 
there  is  little  to  choose  between  truth  and  falsehood.  But 
let  the  light  of  truth  pour  in  fresh  on  his  mind,  let  him 
penetrate  mysteries  heretofore  thought  inscrutable,  —  let  him 
see  there  unnumbered  contrivances,  planned  by  infinite 
wisdom  and  infinite  goodness,  for  the  convenience  and  hap- 
piness of  man,  —  let  him  see  that  rains  and  changes  of  wind 
are  not  accidental,  but  subject  to  laws  as  fixed  as  those 
which  govern  the  planetary  motions,  and  that  these  laws 
are  not  past  finding  out;  —  zeal  and  animation  in  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge,  will  then  take  the  place  of  listlessness  and 
despair. 

Among  the  innumerable  benefits  arising  from  the  adoption 

1  Tillotson. 


PREFACE.  VI 1 

of  a  true  system  of  meteorology,  will  be  the  death  of  super- 
stition on  this  subject.  For  example,  if  it  is  true  that  a 
great  storm,  when  once  generated,  contains  a  self-sustaining 
power,  and  continues  for  many  days  and  nights  in  succes- 
sion, terminating  in  one  place  while  it  is  beginning  in  an- 
other, the  belief  in  planetary  or  lunar  influence  in  the 
production  of  this  meteor,  being  incompatible  with  this 
single  fact,  it  will  be  abandoned  forever. 

I  owe  an  apology  to  the  reader  for  the  frequent  repetitions 
of  the  elementary  principles  which  he  will  find  in  the  body 
of  the  work. 

My  apology,  I  trust,  will  amount  to  a  justification,  when 
it  is  known,  that  the  whole  work  is  made  up  of  parts,  writ- 
ten at  very  different  periods  of  time,  during  the  last  seven 
years,  according  as  new  storms  were  investigated,  or  new 
facts  brought  to  light. 

Now,  it  was  necessary,  that  each  of  these  parts,  which 
were  all  intended  for  separate  publication,  should  contain 
the  elementary  principles  on  which  the  explanation  of  the 
phenomena  depends,  it  follows,  either  that  the  publication 
of  the  work  should  be  delayed  to  an  unknown  period,  to 
give  time  to  remodel  the  whole,  or  that  the  original  essays 
should  be  published  entire.  After  all,  I  do  not  much  fear 
censure  on  this  point,  from  those  who  shall  read  the 
work  with  a  determination  to  understand.  With  them  the 
great  question  will  be,  is  the  theory  true  ? 

If  the  evidences  which  they  will  find  scattered  through- 
out the  work,  almost  with  the  profusion  of  nature,  though 
no  where  centred  in  one  combined  phalanx,  shall  enable 
them  to  answer  this  question  in  the  affirmative;  the  main 
purpose  for  which  the  work  was  written  will  be  accom- 
plished :  and  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  truth 
will  leave  but  little  disposition  to  look  censoriously  at  the 
mere  external  form  in  which  that  truth  is  presented. 

I  have  avoided  technical  language  in  this  work,  and  I 


Vlll 


INTRODUCTION. 


NEPHELESCOPE.  calculations  made  on  chemical  principles. 
Mr.  Espy  exhibited  the  mode  of  operating 
with  this  instrument. 

By  means  of  the  condensing  pump  a, 
air  may  be  forced  into  the  glass  vessel  &, 
and  its  degree  of  condensation  can  be  mea- 
sured by  the  barometer  gage  c. 

After  the  instrument  is  charged,  the 
stop-cock  is  turned,  and  the  pump  removed. 
When  the  air  within  acquires  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  without,  a  measure  is  care- 
fully applied  to  the  barometer  gage  to  as- 
certain how  much  higher  the  mercury 
stands  in  the  outer  leg  than  in  the  inner  ; 
the  cock  is  then  turned,  and  the  air  per- 
mitted to  escape,  and  at  the  moment  of 
equilibrium,  the  cock  is  closed  again. 
Now  as  the  cock  is  closed  at  the  moment 
I  the  greatest  cold  is  produced  by  expan- 
jsion,  the  mercury  in  the  outer  leg  will  be- 
gin to  ascend,  and  that  in  the  inner  leg  to  descend,  because  the  air 
within  receives  heat  from  without,  and  the  difference  of  level  being 
measured  as  before,  will  indicate  the  number  of  degrees  cooled 
by  a  given  expansion. 

Mr.  Espy  shewed  that  when  dry  air  is  used  in  the  experiment, 
the  temperature  is  reduced  about  twice  as  much  as  when  moist 
air  is  used,  on  account  of  latent  caloric  evolved  in  the  latter  case 
by  the  formation  of  cloud  which  is  plainly  visible.  (59.)  Mr. 
Espy  then  proceeded  to  give  the  following  synopsis  of  his  theory, 
premising  that  the  numbers  he  should  introduce  were  not  intended 
to  be  strictly  accurate,  and  would  be  subject  to  many  corrections 
—  one  in  particular,  in  which  no  notice  had  been  taken  of  the 
specific  heat  of  air  under  different  pressures. 

SYNOPSIS. 

When  the  air  near  the  surface  of  the  earth  becomes  more  heated 
or  more  highly  charged  with  aqueous  vapor,  which  is  only  five- 
eighths  of  the  specific  gravity  of  atmospheric  air,  its  equilibrium 
is  unstable,  and  up-moving  columns  or  streams  will  be  formed. 
•As  these  columns  rise,  their  upper  parts  will  come  under  less  pres- 
sure, and  the  air  will  therefore  expand ;  as  it  expands,  it  will  grow 
colder  about  one  degree  and  a  quarter  for  every  hundred  yards  of 
its  ascent,  as  is  demonstrated  by  experiments  on  the  nephelescope, 
(58  to  68.)  The  ascending  columns  will  carry  up  with  them  the 
aqueous  vapor  which  they  contain,  and,  if  they  rise  high  enough, 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

the  cold  produced  by  expansion  from  diminished  pressure  will  con- 
dense some  of  this  vapor  into  cloud  ;  for  it  is  known  that  cloud 
is  formed  in  the  receiver  of  an  air  pump  when  the  air  is  suddenly 
withdrawn.  The  distance  or  height  to  which  the  air'  will  have  to 
ascend  before  it  will  become  cold  enough  to  begin  to  form  cloud, 
is  a  variable  quantity,  depending  on  the  number  of  degrees  which 
the  dew  point  is  below  the  temperature  of  the  air  ;  and  this  height 
may  be  known  at  any  time  by  observing  how  many  degrees  a  thin 
metallic  tumbler  of  water  must  be  cooled  down  below  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  before  the  vapor  begins  to  condense  on  the  outside. 
The  highest  temperature  at  which  it  will  condense,  which  is  varia- 
ble accordingly  as  there  is  more  or  less  vapor  in  the  air,  is  called 
the  "  dew  point,"  and  the  difference  between  the  dew  point  and 
the  temperature  of  the  air  in  degrees,  is  called  the  complement  of 
the  dew  point.1  (117,  118,  129.) 

It  is  manifest,  that  if  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  should 
at  any  time  be  cooled  down  a  little  below  the  dew  point,  it  would 
form  a  fog,  by  condensing  a  small  portion  of  its  transparent  vapor 
into  little  fine  particles  of  water  ;  and  if  it  should  be  cooled  twenty 
degrees  below  the  dew  point,  it  would  condense  about  one  half  its 
vapor  into  water,  and  at  forty  degrees  below,  it  would  condense 
about  three  fourths  of  its  vapor  into  water,  &c.  This,  however, 
will  not  be  exactly  the  case  from  the  cold  produced  by  expansion 
in  the  upmoving  columns  ;  for  the  vapor  itself  grows  thinner,  and 
the  dew  point  falls  about  one  quarter  of  a  degree  for  every  hun- 
dred yards  of  ascent. 

It  follows,  then,  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  sinks  about  one 
degree  and  a  quarter  for  every  hundred  yards  of  ascent,  and  the 
dew  point  sinks  about  a  quarter  of  a  degree,  that  as  soon  as  the 
column  rises  as  many  hundred  yards  as  the  complement  of  the 
dew  point  contains  degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  cloud  will  begin  to  form  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  the  bases  of  all  clouds  forming  by  the  cold  of 
diminished  pressure  from  upmoving  columns  of  air,  will  be  about 
as  many  hundred  yards  high  as  the  dew  point  in  degrees  is  below 
the  temperature  of  the  air  at  the  time.  (66,  67,  97).  If  the 
temperature  of  the  ascending  column  should  be  ten  degrees  above 
that  of  the  air  through  which  it  passes,  and  should  rise  to  the 
height  of  4,800  feet  before  it  begins  to  form  cloud,  the  whole 
column  would  then  be  100  feet  of  air  lighter  than  surrounding 
columns  ;  and  if  the  column  should  be  very  narrow,  its  velocity  of 

1  The  height  of  the  bases  of  forming  cumuli  may  be  ascertained  by  the  fol- 
lowing empirical  formula  :  10300  (^/)  =  height  of  base  in  yards;  t  being 
the  temperature  of  the  air  in  degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  and  t'  the  temperature  of 
wet  bulb  swung  briskly  in  the  air.  (66,  98.) 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

upward  motion  would  follow  the  laws  of  spouting  fluids,  which 
would  be  eight  times  the  square  root  of  100  feet  a  second,  that  is, 
80  feet  a  second,  and  the  barometer  in  the  centre  of  the  column  at 
its  base  would  fall  about  the  ninth  of  an  inch.  As  soon  as  cloud 
begins  to  form,  the  caloric  of  elasticity  of  the  vapor  or  steam  i& 
given  out  into  the  air  in  contact  with  the  little  particles  of  water 
formed  by  the  condensation  of  the  vapor.  This  will  prevent  the 
air,  in  its  further  progress  upwards,  from  cooling  so  fast  as  it  did 
up  to  that  point  ;  and,  from  experiments  on  the  nephelescope,  it  is 
found  to  cool  only  about  one  half  as  much  above  the  base  of  the 
cloud  as  below  ;  that  is,  about  five  eighths  of  a  degree  for  one 
hundred  yards  of  ascent,  when  the  dew  point  is  about  seventy  de- 
grees. If  the  dew  point  is  higher,  it  cools  a  little  less,  and  if  the 
dew  point  is  lower,  it  cools  a  little  more  than  five  eighths  of  a  de- 
gree in  ascending  one  hundred  yards. 

Now,  it  has  been  ascertained  by  aeronauts  and  travellers  on 
mountains,  that  the  atmosphere  itself,  free  from  clouds,  is  about 
one  degree  colder  for  every  hundred  yards  in  height  above  the 
surface  of  the  sea ;  therefore,  as  the  air  in  the  cloud  above  its 
base  is  only  five  eighths  of  a  degree  colder  for  every  hundred 
yards  in  height,  it  follows,  that  when  the  cloud  is  of  great  per-» 
pendicular  height  above  its  base,  its  top  must  be  much  warmer 
than  the  atmosphere  at  that  height,  and  consequently  much  lighter. 
Indeed,  the  specific  gravity  of  a  cloud  of  any  height,  compared 
with  that  of  the  surrounding  air  at  the  same  elevation,  may  be 
calculated,  when  the  dew  point  is  given ;  for  its  temperature  is 
known  by  experiments  with  the  nephelescope,  and  the  quantity  of 
vapor  condensed  by  the  cold  of  diminished  pressure  at  every  point 
in  its  upward  motion,  and  of  course  the  quantity  of  caloric  of  elas- 
ticity given  out  by  this  condensation  is  known,  and  also  the  effect 
this  caloric  has  in  expanding  the  air  receiving  it,  beyond  the  vol- 
ume it  would  have  if  no  caloric  of  elasticity  was  evolved  in  the 
condensation  of  the  vapor.  (175.)  For  example,  according  to  the 
experiments  of  Professor  W.  R.  Johnson,  of  Philadelphia,  a  pound 
of  steam,  at  the  temperature  of  212°,  contains  1,030°  of  caloric 
of  elasticity  ;  and  as  the  sum  of  the  latent  and  sensible  caloric  of 
steam  is  the  same  at  all  temperatures,  it  follows,  that  a  pound  of 
steam  being  condensed  in  1,210  pounds  of  water  at  32°,  would 
heat  this  water  up  one  degree  ;  and,  as  the  specific  caloric  of  air 
is  only  0.267,  if  a  pound  of  vapor  should  be  condensed  in  1,210 
pounds  of  air,  it  would  heat  that  air  nearly  4°,  or,  which  is  the 
same  thing,  it  would  heat  100  pounds  of  air  about  45°.  And  in 
all  these  cases  it  would  expand  the  air  about  8,000  times  the  bulk 
of  water  generated  ;  that  is,  8,000  cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot 
of  water  formed  out  of  the  condensed  vapor.  And  as  it  requires 
about  1,300  cubic  feet  of  vapor,  at  the  ordinary  temperatures  of 


INTRODUCTION.  xi 

the  atmosphere,  to  make  one  cubic  foot  of  water,  if  this  quantity 
be  subtracted  from  8,000,  it  will  leave  6,700  cubic  feet  of  actual 
expansion  of  the  air  in  the  cloud,  for  every  cubic  foot  of  water 
generated  there  by  condensed  vapor.  When  hail  or  snow  is 
formed,  the  caloric  of  fluidity  given  out  will  produce  about  an 
eighth  greater  expansion.  This  great  expansion  of  the  air  in  the 
forming  cloud  will  cause  the  air  to  spread  outwards  in  all  direc- 
tions above,  causing  the  barometer  to  rise  on  the  outside  of  the 
cloud,  above  the  mean,  and  to  fall  below  the  mean  under  the  mid- 
dle of  the'cloud  as  much  as  it  is  known  to  do  in  the  midst  of  great 
storms.  For  example,  if  the  dew  point  should  be  very  high,  say 
78D,  then  the  quantity  of  vapor  in  the  air  would  be  about  one  fif- 
tieth of  its  whole  weight,  and  if  the  upmoving  column  should  rise 
high  enough  to  condense  one  half  its  vapor  into  cloud,  it  would 
heat  the  air  containing  it  45°,  and  the  air  so  heated  would  be  ?4?5F 
larger  than  it  would  be  if  it  was  at  zero,  and  not  so  heated.  And 
if  we  assume  a  case  within  the  bounds  of  nature,  and  suppose  the 
cloud  and  the  column  under  the  cloud  to  occupy  three  fourths  of 
the  whole  weight  of  the  atmosphere,  or  in  other  words,  if  we  sup- 
pose the  top  of  the  cloud  to  reach  a  height  where  the  barometer 
would  stand  at  7£  inches,  and  the  mean  temperature  of  the  whole 
column  40°  warmer  than  the  surrounding  air,  (which  we  may  sup- 
pose, for  the  sake  of  illustration,  to  have  a  mean  temperature  of 
zero,)  then  would  the  barometer  fall  under  the  cloud  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  •£&  °f  22.5  inches  or  a  little  more  than  an  inch 
and  eight  tenths.1 

Though  the  air  will  be  driven  up  much  higher  than  the  point 
here  assumed,  and  of  course,  increase  the  depression  of  the  ba- 
rometer, from  its  specific  levity,  the  cloud  will  cease  to  form  at 
greater  heights,  because  the  dew  point,  at  these  great  elevations, 
falls  by  a  further  ascent  as  rapidly  as  the  temperature  ;  and  at 
greater  elevations,  it  will  even  fall  more  rapidly.  If,  for  instance, 
the  air  should  rise  from  where  the  barometer  stands  at  6  inches,  to 
where  it  stands  at  3  inches,  the  dew  point  would  fall  about  20°, 
but  the  temperature  would  fall  less  than  20°,  and  therefore  no  va- 
por would  be  condensed  by  such  ascent.  When  a  cloud  begins  to 
form  from  an  ascending  column  of  air,  it  will  be  seen  to  swell  out 


1  Sittings  of  the  French  Academy  of  Science,  1839,  page  715.  M.  Four- 
net  says,  that  the  parasite  clouds  which  are  formed  over  Mount  PiJat 
do  not  always  redissolve  immediately  after  having  been  carried  beyond 
the  place  ot  their  birth,  and  that  the  formation  of  this  kind  of  cloud  is  ac- 
companied by  a  very  considerable  local  depression  of  the  barometer.  If  the 
formation  of  a  small  parasitic  cloud  produces  a  considerable  depression  of  the 
barometer,  what  ought  a  great  storm  cloud  to  do  ? 


Xll 


INTRODUCTION. 
2  3 


at  the  top,  assuming,  successively,  the  appearances  of  1,  2,  3r 

Generally  called  cumuli :  or,  if  the  upmoving  current  should  be 
riven  out  of  its  perpendicular  motion  by  an  upper  current  of  air, 
the  clouds  which  might  then  form  would  be  ragged  and  irregular, 
called  broken  cumuli,  as  4.  These  will  always  be  higher  than 
the  base  of  cumuli,  but  much  lower  than  cirrus.  While  the  cloud 
continues  to  form  and  swell  up  above,  its  base  will  remain  on  the 
same  level,  for  the  air  below  the  base  has  to  rise  to  the  same 
height  before  it  becomes  cold  enough,  by  diminished  pressure,  to 
begin  to  condense  its  vapor  into  water  ;  this  will  cause  the  base  to 
be  flat,  even  after  the  cloud  has  acquired  great  perpendicular 
height,  and  assumed  the  form  of  a  sugar  loaf.  Other  clouds,  also, 
for  many  miles  around,  formed  by  other  ascending  columns,  will 
assume  similar  appearances,  and  will  moreover  have  their  bases 
all  on  the  same  or  nearly  the  same  horizontal  level ;  and  the  height 
of  these  bases  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  will  be  greatest  about 
two  o'clock,  when  the  dew  point  and  temperature  of  the  air  are 
the  greatest  distance  apart.1  The  outspreading  of  the  air  in  the 


1  On  some  Meteorological  Phenomena  observed  in  the  Pyrenees,  by  M.  Peytier. 
The  geodisic  observations,  says  M.  Peytier,  that  I  have  made  with  M. 
Hossard  in  the  western  part  of  the  chain  of  the  Pyrenees,  (from  the  Garronne 
as  far  as  Saint  Jean  de  Luz,)  during  the  years  1825,  '26,  and  '27,  having 
placed  me  under  the  necessity  of  encamping  on  the  principal  mountains  of 
this  part  of  the  chain,  I  have  had  occasion  to  make  some  observations  on 
several  meteorological  phenomena  of  some  interest,  of  which  I  will  give  an 
account.  1st.  On  the  clouds.  It  is  extremely  rare  that  there  is  not  any 
cloud  on  the  chain  of  the  Pyrenees  ;  thus,  during  the  summer  of  1826, 1  saw 


INTRODUCTION.  Xlll 

upper  parts  of  an  ascending  column  will  form  an  annulus  all 
round  the  cloud,  under  which  the  barometer  will  stand  above  the 
mean;  of  course  the  air  will  sink  downwards  from  its  greater 
weight  in  the  annulus,  and  increase  the  velocity  of  the  wind  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  towards  the  centre  of  the  ascending  column, 
while  all  round  on  the  outside  of  the  annulus  there  will  be  a  gen- 
tle wind  outwards.  Any  general  currents  of  air,  which  may  ex- 
ist at  the  time,  will  of  course  modify  these  motions,  from  the  ob- 
lique forces  they  would  occasion.  The  upmoving  current  of  air 

only  four  days  without  any  clouds  :  the  12th  of  May,  the  Ibth  of  June,  the 
30th  of  July,  and  the  7th  of  August. 

It  is  in  the  morning,  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  that  the  mountains  are  seen 
most  frequently  without  clouds,  but  it  is  excessively  rare  that  they  are  not 
covered  before  the  middle  of  the  day. 

When  the  mountains  are  seen  in  the  morning,  we  observe  generally  at  one, 
two,  or  three  hours,  more  or  less,  after  the  rising  of  the  sun,  when  the  heat 
begins  to  be  felt,  there  form  in  the  plains  at  the  foot  of  the  chain,  some  little 
clouds,  which  rise  gradually  and  reach  the  mountains.  If  we  were  placed 
on  a  high  mountain,  we  would  see  these  little  clouds  form  and  rise  sometimes 
as  rapidly  as  rockets.  They  group  themselves  in  the  mountains,  where  they 
frequently  form  tempests;  at  other  times,  they  rise  slowly,  assemble  in  a 
mass,  on  the  same  level,  and  form  a  stratum  more  or  less  thick  and  more 
or  less  elevated,  that  covers  the  plain  and  resembles  a  sea  of  white  vapors. 

This  stratum,  thus  formed,  rises  gradually  during  the  day,  (sometimes  more 
than  1000  metres,)  and  lowers  in  the  evening  and  in  the  night.  Often,  this 
stratum  of  clouds  rising  in  the  day  and  lowering  at  night,  remains  thus  for 
several  days  in  succession.  Very  often  the  clouds  dissolve  in  the  night  and 
form  again  in  the  day  some  time  after  the  rising  of  the  sun. 

These  clouds,  when  they  rise  in  the  mountains,  generally  follow  the  direc- 
tion of  the  valleys,  though  the  wind  has  not  that  direction. 

We  remarked  often  in  the  high  valleys  some  clouds  leaning  against  the 
two  sides  of  the  mountains,  whilst  the  heavens  were  seen  above  from  the 
middle  of  the  valley,  between  the  two  bands  of  clouds. 

We  see  again,  frequently,  a  cap  of  clouds  on  some  elevated  peaks,  when 
there  are  not  any  on  the  mass  of  the  chain.  Often  the  clouds  cover  all  one 
side  of  the  chain,  whilst  the  other  side  is  without  any  clouds  ;  and  we  re- 
marked that  the  side  toward  France  is  more  often  covered  than  that  toward 
Spain. 

These  clouds  are  sometimes  seen  to  ride  on  the  summit  of  the  chain.  This 
happens,  when  pushed  by  the  wind,  the  clouds  attain  the  top  of  the  chain, 
where  their  weight  causes  them  to  fall  back  to  the  other  side. 

We  remarked  also,  sometimes,  two  strata  of  clouds  moving  in  different 
directions.  There  is  then  some  probability  of  a  change  of  weather. 

When  there  are  two  strata  of  clouds  plainly  shown,  the  upper  is  generally 
higher  than  the  summit  of  the  chain  ;  it  rarely  touches  the  peaks.  The  dif- 
ference of  the  level  between  the  two  strata  is  often  very  considerable. 

These  clouds  are  not  level  in  the  rainy  weather ;  they  are  generally  low 
in  time  of  rain,  and  much  more  elevated  in  storms. 

The  composition  of  these  clouds  does  not  always  appear  to  be  the  same; 
sometimes  they  are  light  and  transparent,  sometimes  they  are  thick  and  not 
transparent,  and  sometimes  they  are  dry,  and  at  other  times  very  humid.  I 
have  seen  the  rain  producing  the  rainbow ;  this  is  when  a  part  of  the  cloud 
resolves  itself  into  excessively  fine  rain. 

The  clouds  which  produce  these  haloes,  appear  very  elevated,  very  light, 
and  very  transparent. 

C 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION. 


must  of  course  be  entirely  supplied  by  the  air  within  the  annulus, 
and  that  which  descends  in  the  annulus  itself.  When  upmoving 
currents  are  formed  by  superior  heat,  clouds  will  more  frequently 
begin  to  form  in  the  morning,  increase  in  number  as  the  heat  in- 
creases, and  cease  altogether  in  the  evening,  when  the  surface  of 
the  earth  becomes  cold  by  radiation. 

The  commencement  of  up-moving  columns  in  the  morning, 
will  be  attended  with  an  increase  of  wind,  and  its  force  will  in- 
crease with  the  increasing  columns ;  both  keeping  pace  with  the 
increasing  temperature.  This  increase  of  wind  is  produced  partly 
by  the  rush  of  air  on  all  sides  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  towards 
the  centre  of  the  ascending  columns,  producing  fitful  breezes ; 
and  partly  by  the  depression  of  air  all  round  the  ascending  col- 
umns, bringing  down  with  it  the  motion  which  it  has  above,  which 
is  known  to  be  greater  than  that  which  the  air  has  in  contact  with 
the  asperities  of  the  earth's  surface.1  The  rapid  disturbance  of 
equilibrium,  which  is  produced  by  one  ascending  column,  will 
tend  to  form  others  in  its  neighborhood  ; 2  for,  the  air  being  pressed 
outwards  from  the  annulus,  or  at  least  retarded  on  the  windward 
side,  will  form  other  ascending  columns,  and  these  will  form  other 
annuli,  and  so  the  process  will  be  continued.  These  ascending 
columns  will  have  a  tendency  to  approach,  and  finally  unite  ;  for 
the  air  between  them,  as  between  2  and  3,  (p.  xii.)  must  descend,  and 
in  descending,  the  temperature  of  the  whole  column  will  increase, 


1  On  the  comparative  force  of  the  wind  during  the  twenty -four  hours,  by 
Mr.  Osier. 

Mr.  Follett  Osier,  brought  before  the  British  Association,  a  paper,  in  which 
he  gave  the  results  of  his  investigations  respecting  the  direction  and  force  of 
the  wind,  deduced  from  the  mean  of  26,000  hourly  observations,  taken  by  the 
anemometer,  at  the  Philosophical  Institution,  at  Birmingham,  during  the  years 
1837-8,  and  1839,  We  extract  one  of  Mr.  Osier's  tables. 

Table,  showing  the  Relative  Force  of  the  Wind  for  each  hour  of  the  day,  distin- 
guishing the  Seasons  ;  from  a  mean  of  the  years  1837-8,  and  1839. 


la.m.2    34567 


9     10    11    12    lp.m.2 


4     5 


78      9    10    11     12 


Winter. 
Spring1,. 
Summer, 
lutu  .  n. 

Totals, 


49|  47 |  47 |  48 |  48|  51 


120  115  112  120  117  116  134 


73|  82| 
82 
47 


85 |  70 |  75 


53    44 
53    44 


217  247  274  295  286  280  247  224 


65)  63 |  63 |  63 |  59)  61 |  57 


193  169  156  153  136  136  12G 


As  direction  is  not  regarded  in  this  table,  a  total  of  more  than  one  thousand 
observations  is  given  for  each  hour  of  the  day.  In  tabulating  these,  the  curve 
obtained,  is  found  to  be  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  thermometer  —  not 
only  for  the  whole  year,  but  for  each  season.  The  increase  in  the  tempera- 
ture, however,  precedes  the  rise  of  the  wind  by  a  short  interval,  until  it  has 
attained  its  maximum  force ;  but  as  evening  approaches,  the  wind  declines 
more  rapidly  than  the  temperature. 

*  The  annexed  figure,  is  a  copy  of  three  water-spouts,  seen  by  Lieut.  Og- 
deu,  at  one  time,  on  the  edge  of  the  Gulf  stream,  which  is  described  at  page 


INTRODUCTION. 


XV 


for  it  is  known  that  the  air,  at  great  elevations,  contains  more  cal- 
oric to  the  pound,  than  the  air  near  the  surface  of  the  earth,  be- 
cause it  is  the  upper  regions  that  receive  the  caloric  of  elasticity, 
given  out  in  the  condensation  of  vapor  into  clouds.  Therefore, 
when  the  air  has  descended  some  time  in  the  middle,  between  two 
ascending  columns,  the  barometer  will  fall  a  little,  or  at  least  not 
stand  so  high  above  the  mean  as  it  does  on  the  outside  of  the  two 
clouds,  and  so  the  columns  will  be  pressed  towards  each  other. 
If  one  of  two  neighboring  columns  should  be  greatly  higher  than 
the  other,  as  3  and  2,  (p.  xii.)  its  annulus  may  overlap  the  smaller 
one,  and,  of  course,  the  current  under  the  smaller  cloud  will  be  in- 
verted, and  the  cloud  which  may  have  been  formed  over  the  col- 
umn thus  forced  to  descend  will  soon  disappear  ;  for  as  it  is  forced 
downwards  by  the  overlapping  annulus  of  the  more  lofty  column, 
it  will  come  under  greater  pressure,  and  its  temperature  will  be 
thus  increased  ;  and  it  is  manifest,  that  as  soon  as  its  top  descends 
as  low  as  its  base,  it  will  have  entirely  disappeared  ;  and,  in  the 
mean  time,  the  larger  cloud  will  have  greatly  increased. 

As  the  air  above  the  cloud  formed  by  an  ascending  column  is 

57.  For  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  one  spout,  while  forming,  tends 
to  generate  others  in  its  neighborhood,  see  page  435. 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

forced  upwards,  if  it  contains  much  aqueous  vapor,  a  thin  film  of 
cloud,  as  over  the  top  of  2,  (p.  xii.)  will  be  formed  in  it  by  the  cold  of 
diminished  pressure,  entirely  distinct  from  the  great  dense  cumulus 
below ;  but  as  the  cumulus  rises  faster  than  the  air  above  it,  (for 
some  of  the  air  will  roll  off)  the  thin  film  and  the  top  of  the  cu- 
mulus will  come  in  contact;  and  sometimes  a  second  film  or  cap 
may  be  formed  in  the  same  way,  and  perhaps  a  third  and  fourth. 
When  these  caps  form,  there  will  probably  be  rain,  as  their  form- 
ation indicates  a  high  degree  of  saturation  in  the  upper  air.  (96.) 
When  the  complement  of  the  dew  point  is  very  great,  (twenty 
degrees  and  more)  clouds  can  scarcely  form  ;  for  up-moving  col- 
umns will  generally  either  come  to  an  equilibrium  with  the  sur- 
rounding air,  or  be  dispersed  before  they  rise  twenty  hundred 
yards,  which  they  must  do  in  this  case,  before  they  form  clouds. 
Sometimes,  however,  masses  of  air  will  rise  high  enough  to  form 
clouds ;  but  they  are  generally  detached  from  any  up-moving  col- 
umn underneath,  and  of  course  cannot  then  form  cumuli  with  flat 
bases  ;  such  clouds  will  be  seen  to  dissolve  as  soon  as  they  form, 
and  even  while  forming,  they  will  generally  appear  ragged,  thin, 
and  irregular.  Moreover,  if  the  ground  should  be  colder  during 
the  day,  than  the  air  in  contact  with  it,  as  it  sometimes  happens 
after  a  very  cold  spell  of  weather,  then,  as  the  air  touching  the 
cold  earth  will  be  colder  than  the  stratum  above  it,  ascending  col- 
umns cannot  exist,  and  of  course  no  cumuli  can  be  formed  on  that 
day,  even  though  the  air  may  be  saturated  with  vapor  to  such  a 
degree  as  to  condense  a  portion  of  it  on  cold  bodies  at  the  surface 
of  the  earth.  Also,  if  during  the  whole  winter,  any  part  of  Sibe- 
ria, or  the  northern  part  of  North  America,  should  be  so  much 
colder  than  surrounding  regions,  that  no  up-moving  columns  could 
be  produced,  then  neither  clouds  nor  snow  could  be  formed.1 
Neither  can  clouds  form  of  any  very  great  size,  when  there  are 
cross  currents  of  air  sufficiently  strong  to  break  in  two  an  ascend- 
ing current,  for  the  ascensional  power  of  the  up-moving  current 
will  thus  be  weakened  and  destroyed.  Immediately  after  a  great 
rain,  too,*when  the  upper  air  has  yet  in  it  a  large  quantity  of  cal- 
oric, which  it  received  from  the  condensation  of  the  vapor,  the 
up-moving  columns  which  may  then  occur,  on  reaching  this  upper 
stratum,  will  not  continue  their  motion  in  it  far,  from  the  want  of 
buoyancy  ;  therefore,  they  will  not  produce  rain,  nor  clouds  of 
any  kind,  but  broken  cumuli.  Besides,  as  the  air  at  some  distance 
above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  below  the  base  of  the  cloud, 

1  There  is  a  district  in  Siberia,  mentioned  by  Erman,  where,  during  winter, 
snow  never  falls,  and  clouds  are  unknown.  Report  of  Committee  of  Royal 
Society  on  Physics  and  Meteorology,  page  45. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XV11 


is  sometimes  very  dry,  and  as  much  of  this  air  goes  in  below  the 
base  of  the  cloud  and  up  with  the  ascending  column,  large  por- 
tions of  the  air  in  the  cloud  may  thus  not  be  saturated  with  vapor, 
and,  of  course,  rain  in  this  case  will  not  be  produced.  Professor 
Stevelly,  of  Belfast,  told  the  author,  that  he  knew  that  clouds  are 
sometimes  not  saturated.  These  are  some  of  the  means  contrived 
by  nature  to  prevent  up-moving  columns  from  increasing  until  rain 
would  follow.  Without  some  such  contrivances,  it  is  probable  that 
every  up-moving  column  which  should  begin  to  form  cloud  when 
the  dew  point  is  favorable,  would  produce  rain,  for  as  soon  as 
cloud  forms,  the  up-moving  power  is  rapidly  increased  by  the  evo- 
lution of  the  caloric  of  elasticity. 

On  the  leeward  side  of  very  lofty  mountains,  there  cannot  be 
rain  ;  for  as  the  air  on  the  windward  side  rises  up  the  sides  of  the 
mountain,  it  will  condense  all  the  vapor  which  can  be  condensed 
by  the  cold  of  diminished  pressure,  before  it  reaches  to  the  top, 
and  even  if  cloud  passes  over  the  top  to  the  other  side,  it  would 
soon  disappear,  because  in  passing  down  the  slope  it  will  come 
under  greater  pressure,  and  thus  be  dissolved  by  the  heat  produc- 
ed. These  are  some  of  the  causes  which  prevent  rains  at  particu- 
lar times  and  in  particular  localities.  If,  however,  the  air  is  very 
hot  below,  with  a  high  dew  point,  and  no  cross  currents  of  air 
above  to  a  great  height,  then,  when  an  upmoving  current  is  once 
formed,  it  will  go  on  and  increase  in  violence  as  it  acquires  per- 
pendicular elevation,  especially  after  the  cloud  begins  to  form. 
At  first  the  base  of  the  cloud  will  be  flat;  but  after  the  cloud  be- 
comes of  great  perpendicular  diameter,  and  the  barometer  begins 
to  fall  considerably,  as  it  will  do  from  the  specific  levity  of  the 
air  in  the  cloud,  then  the  air  will  not  have  to  rise  so  far  as  it  did 
at  the  moment  when  the  cloud  began  to  form,  before  it  reaches 
hi^h  enough  to  form  cloud  from  the  cold  of  diminished  pressure. 
The  cloud  will  now  be  convex  below,  assuming 'successively  the 


XV111  INTRODUCTION. 

appearances  6  and  7,  and  its  parts  will  be  seen  spreading  outwards 
in  all  directions,  especially  on  that  side  towards  which  the  upper 
current  is  moving,  assuming  something  of  the  shape  of  a  mush- 
room. In  the  mean  time,  the  action  of  the  in-moving  current  be- 
low, and  upmoving  current  in  the  middle,  will  become  very  vio- 
lent, and  if  the  barometer  falls  two  inches  under  the,  centre  of  the 
cloud,  the  air,  on  coming  in  under  the  cloud,  will  cool  by  dimin- 
ished pressure  about  ten  degrees,  and  the  base  of  the  cloud  will 
reach  the  earth,  if  the  dew  point  was  only  eight  degrees  below  the 
temperature  of  the  air  at  the  time  the  cloud  began  to  form.  The 
shape  of  the  lower  part  of  the  cloud  will  now  be  that  of  an  invert- 
ed cone  with  its  apex  on  the  ground,  as  8,  and  when  a  little  more 
prolonged  and  fully  developed,  it  will  be  what  is  called  a  torna- 
do if  it  is  on  land,  and  a  water-spout  if  at  sea. 

On  visiting  the  path  of  a  tornado,  (see  the  whole  of  section 
VII.)  the  trees  on  the  extreme  borders  will  all  be  found  prostrated 
with  their  tops  inwards,  either  inwards  and  backwards,  or  inwards 
and  forwards,  or  exactly  transverse  to  the  path.  The  trees  in  the 
centre  of  the  path  will  be  thrown  either  backwards  or  forwards, 
or  parallel  to  the  path  ;  and  invariably  if  one  tree  lies  across  an- 
other, the  one  which  is  thrown  backwards  is  underneath.  Those 
materials  on  the  sides  which  are  moved  from  their  places  and  roll- 
ed along  the  ground,  leaving  a  trace  of  their  motion,  will  move  in 
a  curve  convex  behind,  those  which  were  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
path  will  make  a  curve  from  left  hand  to  right,  and  those  on  the 
left  hand  of  the  path  will  make  a  curve  from  right  hand  to  left  ; 
and  many  of  these  materials  will  be  found  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  path  from  that  on  which  they  stood  on  the  approach  of  the 
tornado,  being  carried  beyond  the  centre  by  their  momentum,  and 
moved  a  little  forward  by  the  rear  of  the  tornado.  Also  those 
bodies  which  are  carried  up  will  appear  to  whirl,  unless  they  arise 
from  the  very  centre  ;  those  that  are  taken  up  on  the  right  of  the 
centre  will  whirl  in  a  spiral  from  left  to  right,-  and  those  on  the 
left  of  the  centre  will  whirl  in  a  spiral  upwards  from  right  to  left. 
On  examining  the  trees  which  stand  near  the  borders  of  the  path, 
it  will  be  found  that  many  of  the  limbs  are  twisted  round  the  trees, 
and  broken  in  such  a  manner  as  to  remain  twisted,  those  on  the 
right  side  of  the  path  from  left  to  right,  and  those  on  the  left  side 
of  the  path  from  right  to  left.  However,  it  will  be  found  that  only 
those  limbs  which  grew  on  the  side  of  the  tree  most  distant  from 
the  path  of  the  tornado  are  broken;  for  those  alone  were  subject 
to  a  transverse  strain.  The  houses  which  stood  near  the  middle 
of  the  path  will  be  very  liable  to  have  the  roofs  blown  up,  and 
many  of  the  walls  will  be  prostrated,  all  outwards,  by  the  explo- 
sive influence  of  the  air  within,  and  those  houses  covered  with 


INTRODUCTION.  xix 

zinc  or  tin,  from  being  air  tight,  will  suffer  most.1  The  floors 
from  the  cellars  will  also  frequently  be  thrown  up,  doors  and  win- 
dows burst  outwards,  and  bureaus  and  corks  of  empty  bottles  ex- 
ploded. (181.)  All  round  the  tornado  at  a  short  distance,  pro- 
bably not  more  than  three  or  four  hundred  yards,  there  will  be  a 
dead  calm,  on  account  of  the  annulus  formed  by  the  rapid  efflux 
of  air  above,  from  the  centre  of  the  upmoving  and  expanding  col- 
umn. In  this  annulus  the  air  will  be  depressed,  because  the  ba- 
rometer stands  above  the  mean  there,  and  all  round  on  the  outside 
of  it,  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  there  will  be  a  gentle  wind  out- 
wards, and  of  course  all  the  air  which  feeds  the  tornado  is  suppli- 
ed from  within  the  annulus.  Nor  is  this  difficult  to  understand, 
when  the  depression  of  the  air  in  the  annulus  is  considered,  for 
any  amount  may  be  thus  supplied  by  a  great  depression.  Light 
bodies,  such  as  shingles,  branches  of  trees,  sand,  pollen  of  plants 
in  bloom,  grain,  fishes,2  frogs,  and  tadpoles,  (82)  and  drops  of  rain 
or  water  formed  in  the  cloud,  will  be  carried  up  to  a  great  height, 
before  they  are  permitted  to  fall  to  the  earth,  provided  there  is  no 
whirl  to  throw  them  out  by  a  centrifugal  force  ;  (32,  33,)  for 
though  they  may  frequently  be  thrown  outwards  above,  and  then 
descend  to  a  considerable  distance  at  the  side,  they  will  meet  with 
an  in-blowing  current  below,  which  will  force  them  back  to  the 
centre  of  the  upmoving  current,  and  so  they  will  be  carried  aloft 
again.  (32,  82.) 

The  drops  of  rain,  however,  will  frequently  be  carried  high 
enough  to  freeze  them,  especially  if  they  are  thrown  out  above  so 
far  as  to  fall  into  clear  air,  for  this  air  will  in  some  cases  be  thirty 
or  forty  degrees  colder  than  the  air  in  the  cloud.  In  this  case,  if 
the  upmoving  column  is  perpendicular,  the  hail  will  be  thrown  out 
on  both  sides,  sloping  inwards  as  it  falls ;  (183  end)  and  on  exam- 
ination it  will  be  found  that  two  veins  of  hail  fell  simultaneously, 
at  no  great  distance  apart.3  This  hail  will  frequently  be  found  to 


1  Professor  Fisher  told  me  that  he  knew  several  instances,  in  Baltimore,  of 
zinc  roofs  being  carried  away,  while  others,  in  their  neighborhood,  not  air 
tight,  were  undisturbed. 

2  While  this  article  is  in  the  press,  June  30, 1841,  a  shower  of  fishes  (one  a 
squid  ten  inches  long)  fell  in  Boston,  and  the    hail  stones  which  fell  at  the 
same  place  had  a  saline  taste.     It  was  nearly  calm  at  the  time,  but  the  wind 
was  very  violent  in  the  neighborhood. 

3  The  annexed  chart  is  copied  from  the  memoirs  of  the  French  Academy, 
vol.90.     It  represents  two  veins  of  hail  which  fell  simultaneously  not  more 
than  eight  minutes  at  any  one  place,  travelling  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the  Baltic 
with   a  velocity  of  about    50  miles   an  hour.     A  A  A  are  veins  of  rain  ; 
B  B  are  veins  of  hail.  (69.) 


XX 


INTRODUCTION. 


contain  many  of  the  materials  which  were  carried  up  from  the 
surface  of  the  earth ;  (45)  and  in  cases  of  violent  action,  sheets 
of  water  will  be  frozen  into  cakes  of  ice,  which  will  break  into  all 
sorts  of  shapes  and  angles  on  reaching  the  surface  of  the  earth.1 


1  Mr.  Howard  says,  "  On  the  21st  of  June,  1817,  the  thermometer  at  Bath  in 
the  shade  stood  at  86°,  and  on  the  same  day  at  Lyneham,a  water  spout  inundated 
a  considerable  quantity  of  land  and  occasioned  a  rapid  rise  of  the  Avon.  At 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

It  is  indeed  probable,  (32,  33,  45,)  that  in  all  violent  thunder 
storms  in  which  hail  falls,  the  up-moving  current  is  so  violent  as 
to  carry  drops  of  rain  to  a  great  height,  when  they  freeze  and  be- 
come hail.  It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  conceive  any  other 
way  in  which  hail  can  be  formed  in  the  summer,  or  in  the  torrid 
zone.  (45.)  In  those  countries  in  which  an  upper  current  of  air 
prevails  in  a  particular  direction,  the  tornadoes  and  water-spouts 
will  generally  move  in  the  same  direction,  because  the  up-moving 
column  of  air  in  this  meteor  rises  far  into  this  upper  current,  and 
of  course  its  upper  part  will  be  pressed  in  this  direction,  and  as  the 
great  tornado  cloud  moves  on  in  the  direction  of  the  upper  current, 
the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  will  be  pressed  up  into  it  by  the 
superior  weight  of  the  surrounding  air.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
the  tornado  in  Pennsylvania  generally  moves  towards  the  east- 
ward, (passim.)  The  lower  current  does  not  give  direction  to 
the  hurricanes  of  the  West  Indies,  for  in  the  latitude  of  15,  north, 


Salisbury,  the  storm  commenced  about  2,  P.M.,  with  almost  an  instantaneous 
darkness,  and  a  violent  rushing*  of  the  wind  from  the  N.  E.  accompanied  by 
sheets  of  water  and  large  pieces  of  ice.  About  3,  the  wind  ceased  from  the 
N.  E.,  and  suddenly  it  commenced  blowing  from  the  S.  W.  with  such  torrents 
of  rain  for  more  than  half  an  hour,  that  every  street  was  flooded,  and  the  waier 
ran  through  many  of  the  houses.  And  at  Gloucestershire,  on  the  night  of  the 
15th  July,  1808,  masses  of  ice  from  three  to  nine  inches  in  circumference  did 
great  damage.  They  appeared  like  fragments  of  a  vast  plate  of  ice,  broken  into 
small  masses.  The  storm  rose  in  the  S.  W.,  and  died  away  in  the  N.  E.,  from 
which  quarter  it  was  opposed  by  a  strong  breeze.  A  similar  hail  storm,  with 
rugged  pieces  of  ice,  is  mentioned  in  the  2d  vol.  page  73  ;  and  in  page  131,  he 
mentions  hail  stones  five  inches  long  and  two  inches  in  diameter,  which  fell 
in  France  in  the  Upper  Morne.  And  in  page  127,  he  says,  pieces  of  ice  of  pro- 
digious size  fell  near  Birmingham.  In  p.  257,  the  Ohio  storm,  with  stones 
]3,  14  and  15  inches  in  circumference,  some  appeared  like  snow  balls  immers- 
ed in  water  and  then  frozen.  Also  in  page  271,  mention  is  made  of  hail  fall- 
ing a  foot  deep,  in  less  than  10  minutes,  and  becoming  a  solid  mass  of  ice. 
Page  319.  M.  Howard  says,  the  hail  stone,  which  Gilbert  mentions  as  ex- 
ceeding the  strength  of  eight  men  to  lift  it,  was  doubtless  formed  of  aggluti- 
nated hail  melting  on  the  surface  and  freezing  within. 

In  the  Orkney  spout  of  the  24th  July,  1618,  (30,)  instead  of  hail  stones  of 
the  usual  shape  ••  pieces  of  ice,"  of  almost  all  forms,  were  precipitated  with 
the  utmost  violence.  Mr.  Caithness  attempted  to  wade  out  among  the  hail 
stones  in  the  direction  of  the  cattle,  but  the  loose  ice,  he  says,  slipped  below 
his  feet,  and  sometimes  reached  his  knees.  In  this  way  his  legs  were  so 
much  cut  by  its  sharp  edges  that  he  was  soon  obliged  to  desist. 

Many  of  these  stones  were  not  unlike  thick,  clumsy  oyster  shells.  The 
whole  extent  of  this  hail  storm  from  S.  W.  toN.  E.  was  little  more  than  20  miles, 
and  travelled  this  space  at  the  rate  of  about  a  mile  in  a  minute  and  a  half,  and 
lasted,  at  any  one  place,  not  more  than  eight  or  nine  minutes.  The  barometer 
fell  from  29. 68  to  27. 7(),  on  the  passage  of  the  spout ;  or  perhaps  more,  as  the 
minimum  may  not  have  been  observed,  for  it  did  not  occur  to  Mr.  Lindsay  to 
note  the  barometer  till  the  cloud  was  passing  off ;  sixty  geese  in  one  flock 
were  killed,  and  all  the  rest  so  hurt  that  they  soon  died  ;  and  the  milch  cows 
"  were  struck  yeld,"  or  gave  no  more  milk,  and  indeed  would  not  suffer  the 
people  to  attempt  to  milk  them  any  more. 
d 


XX11  INTRODUCTION. 

the  prevailing  direction  of  the  trade  winds  is  north  easterly,  and 
there  the  hurricanes  move  towards  the  north  west.  It  is  probable, 
however,  they  sometimes  bend  out  of  their  course,  to  pass  over  an 
island,  lying  near  the  track,  which  they  would  otherwise  pursue. 

If  a  tornado  should  stop  in  its  motion  for  a  few  seconds,  as  it 
might  do,  on  meeting  with  a  mountain,  it  would  be  likely  to  pour 
down  an  immense  flood  of  water  or  ice,  in  a  very  small  space,  for 
the  drops  which  would  be  carried  up  by  the  ascending  current 
would  soon  accumulate  to  such  a  degree  as  to  force  their  way  back, 
and  this  they  could  not  do  without  collecting  into  one  united  stream 
of  immense  length  and  weight,  and  of  course  on  reaching  the 
side  of  the  mountain  ;  this  stream,  whether  it  consisted  of  water  or 
hail,  would  cut  down  into  the  side  of  the  mountain  a  deep  hole, 
and  make  a  gully  all  the  way  to  the  bottom  of  the  mountain,  from 
the  place  where  it  first  struck.  (192  to  200.) 

As  the  air  spreads  out  more  rapidly  above  than  it  runs  in  below, 
there  will  be  a  tendency  in  storms  to  increase  in  diameter,  and 
this  tendency  will  be  greater  on  the  north  side  than  on  any  other, 
for  the  efflux  above  finds  less  resistance  on  that  side,  for  a  reason 
assigned  in  the  next  paragraph  ;  therefore  it  is  probable  that  storms 
become  elongated  north  and  south,  and  then,  if  they  move  to- 
wards the  east,  they  must  travel  side  foremost. 

At  the  equator,  or  at  least  those  parts  of  it  where  the  trade  winds 
are  constant  from  east  to  west,  it  is  probable  tornadoes  travel  from 
east  to  west.  (147.)  For  as  the  air  in  the  torrid  zone  is  about  80° 
in  temperature  at  a  mean,  and  the  air  in  the  frigid  zone  is  about 
zero,  the  air  in  the  torrid  zone  is  constantly  expanded  by  heat  about 
A0?  °f  its  whole  bulk  in  the  frigid  zone.  This  will  cause  the  airat 
the  equator  to  stand  more  than  seven  miles  higher  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  to  the  top  of  the  atmosphere  than  at  the  north 
pole.  The  air,  therefore,  will  roll  off  from  the  torrid  zone  both 
ways  towards  the  poles,  causing  the  barometer  to  fall  in  low  lati- 
tudes, and  rise  above  the  mean  in  high  latitudes.  This  will  cause 
the  air  to  run  in  below  towards  the  equator,  and  of  course  rise 
there.  Now  from  the  principle  of  the  conservation  of  areas,  it 
will  recede  more  and  more  to  the  west  as  it  rises,  and  of  course 
the  upper  current  of  the  air,  at  the  equator,  probably  moves  to- 
wards the  west.  However,  as  the  air  rolls  off  above,  towards  the 
north,  it  will  be  constantly  passing  over  portions  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face, which  have  a  less  diurnal  velocity  than  the  part  from  which 
it  set  out,  and  as  from  the  nature  of  inertia  it  still  inclines  to  retain 
the  diurnal  velocity  towards  the  east,  which  it  originally  possess- 
ed, when  it  reaches  the  latitude  of  about  20  or  25  degrees,  it  will 
then  probably  be  moving  nearly  towards  the  north,  and  beyond 
that  latitude  its  motion  will  be  north  easterly.  The  effect  of  the 
air  rolling  off  above  from  the  equator  towards  the  poles,  when 


INTRODUCTION.  XX111 

considered  alone,  would  cause  the  barometer  at  the  very  poles  to 
stand  above  the  mean  ;  but  the  centrifugal  force  of  the  air  in  the 
frigid  zone,  arising  from  the  diurnal  revolution  of  the  earth  on  her 
axis,  produces  a  countervailing  force  of  considerable  power,  and 
flattens  the  atmosphere  at  the  poles  more  than  the  earth  is  flattened, 
because  it  is  of  greater  diameter,  and  perhaps  this  may  cause  the 
barometer  to  stand  below  the  mean  very  near  the  poles.  Let  this 
matter  be  further  examined.  As  the  air  in  the  torrid  zone  cer- 
tainly does  rise  and  run  out  towards  the  poles  above,  it  must  rise 
there  in  columns  and  not  all  over  the'  zone  at  once,  otherwise  this 
whole  zone  would  be  covered  with  eternal  cloud,  formed  by  the 
condensation  of  the  vapor  from  the  cold  of  diminished  pressure  as 
the  ais  ascended. 

If  violent  storm  clouds,  which  necessarily  rise  to  a  great  height 
in  the  upper  current,  are  driven  forward  in  the  direction  of  the 
upper  current,  it  is  probable  that  the  barometer  will  rise  higher  in 
that  part  of  the  annulus  which  is  in  front  of  the  storm,  than  in  the 
rear,  and  if  so,  a  sudden  rise  of  the  barometer,  in  particular  local- 
ities, may  become,  when  properly  understood,  one  of  the  first 
symptoms  of  an  approaching  storm.  (116  Rationale,  170.)  In 
consequence  of  the  high  barometer  in  front  of  the  storm  in  a  semi- 
annulus,  the  air  will  be  forced  downwards  there,  and  cause,  in 
some  cases  a  more  violent  action  of  the  air  or  wind  backwards, 
meeting  the  approaching  storm,  than  will  be  experienced  in  the 
rear  of  the  storm.  As  the  barometer  will  probably  be  highest  in 
the  centre  of  the  semi-annulus,  north  east  of  the  storm,  in  middle 
latitudes,  the  tendency  of  the  wind  to  blow  outwards  on  all  sides 
from  the  region  where  the  barometer  stands  highest,  may  cause 
the  wind  in  the  beginning  of  the  storm  to  blow  so  as  to  appear  to 
whirl  from  left  to  right,  on  the  east  side  of  the  storm,  and  from 
right  to  left  on  the  west  side.  (p.  240.) 

As  the  air  comes  downwards  in  the  semi-annulus  in  front  of  the 
storm,  it  will  come  urlder  greater  pressure,  and  therefore  any 
clouds  which  it  may  contain  will  probably  be  dissolved  by  the 
heat  of  greater  pressure  ;*  consequently,  on  the  passage  of  the  an- 
nulus it  will  probably  be  fair  weather,  (p.  241.)  Also,  as  the  air 
above  always  contains  more  caloric  to  the  pound  than  the  air  be- 
low, more  especially  that  which  has  just  spread  out  above  from  a 
storm  cloud,  containing  the  caloric  recently  evolved  from  the  con- 
densing vapor,  there  will  be  an  increase  of  temperature  on  the 
passage  of  the  annulus,  partly  from  the  increased  pressure,  partly 
from  the  increased  radiation  of  the  hotter  air  above,  (p.  288)  but 
chiefly  by  the  descent  of  the  air  itself.  In  very  hot  climates,  this 

1  An  air  tight  piston,  moved  in  a  glass  cylinder,  will  cause  a  cloud  to  appear, 
by  rarefying  the  air;  and  to  disappear,  by  condensing  it. 


XXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

increase  of  temperature  in  front  of  the  storm  will  be  very  sensi- 
bly felt,  (page  241.)  The  increased  pressure  in  the  annulus 
round  a  volcano,  when  it  suddenly  bursts  out,  will  sometimes,  un- 
der favorable  circumstances,  be  very  great,  and  of  course  the  air 
will  be  depressed  from  a  great  height ;  so  that  some  portion  of  the 
very  air  which  has  gone  up  in  the  central  parts  of  the  ascending 
column,  and  formed  cloud  by  the  cold  of  diminished  pressure, 
may  be  forced  down  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  bringing  with  it 
the  caloric  of  elasticity  which  it  received  from  the  condensing  va- 
por ;  if  so,  the  heat  experienced  at  the  time  of  this  descent  will 
be  very  great. 

1  These  hot  blasts  of  air  will  alternate  with  cold  blasts ;  for  the 
air  which  is  forced  down  from  great  heights  in  the  annulus  will 
not  only  be  very  hot,  but  very  dry,  having  condensed  its  vapor  in 
its  previous  ascent.  Now,  when  this  hot  dry  air  flows  inwards 
again  towards  the  volcano,  and  ascends,  it  will  not  form  cloud, 
because  of  its  want  of  vapor,  and  therefore  the  process  of  cloud- 
forming  will  cease,  and  consequently  hail  and  rain  will  cease  too, 
until  more  air,  from  a  greater  distance,  that  has  not  been  deprived 
of  its  vapor,  flows  in  and  ascends.  Then  cloud  will  again  begin 
to  form,  and  the  violence  and  rapidity  of  the  outflowing  of  the  air 
above  will  be  increased  by  the  evolution  of  the  caloric  of  elas- 
ticity—  the  barometer  will  rise  rapidly  in  the  annulus,  and  fall  in 
the  central  part  of  the  ascending  column  ;  and  these  alternations 
may  continue  while  the  volcano  is  in  activity,  more  particularly  if 
the  violence  of  the  volcano  itself  should  be  increased  periodi- 
cally. 

As  air  cannot  move  upwards  without  coming  under  diminished 
pressure,  and  as  it  must  thus  expand  and  grow  cooler,  and  conse- 
quently form  cloud,  any  cause  which  produces  an  up-moving  col- 
umn of  air,  whether  that  cause  be  natural  or  artificial,  will  pro- 
duce rain,  when  the  complement  of  the  dew  point  is  small,  the 
air  calm  below  and  above,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  atmosphere 
of  its  ordinary  temperature.1 

Volcanoes,  therefore,  under  favorable  circumstances,  will  pro- 
duce rain  ;  sea  breezes,  which  blow  inwards  every  day  towards 
the  centre  of  islands,  especially  if  these  islands  have  in  them 
high  mountains,2  which  will  prevent  anyupper  current  of  air  from 

1  The  relative  temperature  of  the  upper  air  may  be  known  by  a  series  of 
observations  with  Pouillet's  actinometer.  (See  art.  170.) 

2  CLINTON  HOTEL,  NEW  YORK,  Dec.  20, 1839. 
To  PROFESSOR  ESPY  : 

DEAR  SIR, — Understanding  you  are  desirous  of  collecting  curious  meteoro- 
logical facts,  I  take  the  liberty  of  communicating  to  you  what  I  saw  in  the 
month  of  December,  1815,  at  the  island  of  Owyhee.  I  lay  at  that  island  in 
the  Cavrico  bay,  in  which  Capt.  Cook  was  killed,  three  weeks,  and  every  day 
during  that  time,  very  soon  after  the  sea  breeze  set  in,  say  about  9  o'clock,  a 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

bending  the  upmoving  current  of  air  out  of  the  perpendicular, 
before  it  rises  high  enough  to  form  cloud,  such  as  Jamaica,  will 
produce  rain  every  day  ;  great  cities  where  very  much  fuel  is 
burnt,  in  countries  where  the  complement  of  the  dew  point  is 
small,  such  as  Manchester  and  Liverpool,  will  frequently  produce 
rain  ;  even  battles,  and  accidental  fires,  if  they  occur  under  favor- 
able circumstances,  may  sometimes  be  followed  by  rain.  (Sect.  X., 
passim.)  Let  all  these  favorable  circumstances  be  watched  for  in 
time  of  drought  (and  they  can  only  occur  then),  and  let  the  experi- 
ment be  tried  ;  if  it  should  be  successful,  the  result  would  be  highly 
beneficial  to  mankind.  It  might  probably  prevent  the  occurrence 
of  those  destructive  tornadoes  which  produce  such  devastation  in 
the  United  States  ;  for  if  rains  should  be  produced  at  regular  in- 
tervals, of  no  great  duration,  the  steam  power  in  the  air  might 
thus  be  prevented  from  rising  high  enough  to  produce  any  storm 
of  destructive  character.  Besides  its  utility  to  the  farmer,  it  would 
be  highly  useful  to  the  mariner  in  the  following  way  :  As  the 
very  time  and  place  of  the  commencement  of  the  rain  would  be 
known,  it  would  be  easy  to  find  out  in  what  direction,  from  the 
place  of  beginning,  it  moved  along  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
also  its  velocity  of  motion,  and  the  shape  that  it  assumed  from 
time  to  time  in  its  progress  ;  and  this  knowledge  being  extended 
to  the  motion  of  storms  on  the  ocean,  will  enable  the  mariner, 
who  has  the  power  of  locomotion,  to  direct  his  vessel  so,  when 

cloud  began  to  form  round  the  lofty  conical  mountain  in  that  island,  in  the 
form  of  a  ring,  as  the  wooden  horizon  surrounds  the  terrestrial  artificial  globe, 
and  it  soon  began  to  rain  in  torrents,  and  continued  through  the  day.  In  the 
evening  the  sea  breeze  died  away  and  the  rain  ceased,  and  the  cloud  soon  dis- 
appeared, and  it  remained  entirely  clear  till  after  the  sea  breeze  set  in  next 
morning.  The  land  breeze  prevailed  during  the  night,  and  was  so  cool  as  to 
render  fires  pleasant  to  the  natives,  which  I  observed  they  constantly  kindled 
in  the  evening.  I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  phenomena  of  the  cloud 
surrounding  the  mountain,  when  none  was  ever  seen  in  any  other  part  of  the 
sky,  and  none  there  till  after  the  sea  breeze  set  in,  in  the  morning,  which  it 
did  with  wonderful  regularity.  The  mountain  stood  in  bold  relief,  and  its  top 
could  always  be  seen  from  where  the  ship  lay,  above  the  cloud,  even  when  it 
was  the  densest  and  blackest,  with  the  lightning  flashing  and  the  thunder 
rolling,  as  it  did  every  day.  I  passed  up  through  the  cloud  once,  and  I  know, 
therefore,  how  violently  it  rains,  especially  at  the  lower  side  of  the  cloud. 
This  rain  never  extends  beyond  the  base  of  the  mountain  ;  and  all  round  the 
horizon  there  is  eternally  a  cloudless  sky.  The  dews,  however,  are  very 
heavy,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  suffering  for  want  of  rain.  That  this  state 
of  things  continues  all  the  year,  1  have  no  doubt,  from  what  an  American,  by 
name  Sears,  who  had  spent  four  years  there,  told  me  ;  he  said  he  had  seen 
no  change  in  regard  to  the  rain.  CALEB  WILLIAMS, 

Of  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

JANUARY  2d,  1840.  Having  read  the  above,  I  can  safely  attest  to  the  truth 
of  what  Mr.  Caleb  Williams  writes  ;  but,  furthermore,  can  say  it  is  the  same 
on  all  the  mountains  on  the  different  islands  of  the  group. 

JOSEPH  STEELE,  of  Boston. 


XXVI  INTRODUCTION. 

one  of  these  great  storms  comes  near  him,  that  he  can  use  as 
much  wind  in  the  borders  of  the  storm  as  will  suit  the  purposes 
of  navigation  —  for  heaven  undoubtedly  makes  the  wind  blow  for 
his  use,  and  not  for  his  destruction,  provided  he  becomes  ac- 
quainted with  the  laws  which  govern  its  motions.  From  the  pre- 
ceding principles,  he  will  be  able  to  know  in  what  direction  a  great 
storm  is  raging,  when  it  is  yet  several  hundred  miles  from  him, 
for  the  direction  of  the  wind  alone  points  it  out.  If,  however,  the 
storm  should  be  of  such  great  length,  moving  side  foremost,  that 
it  will  preclude  the  possibility  of  avoiding  it,  he  will  at  least  be 
enabled  to  know  in  what  direction  to  steer  his  ship,  to  get  out  of 
the  storm  as  soon  as  possible.  For  example,  if  it  shall  be  found 
that  storms  between  the  United  States  and  Europe  always  move 
towards  the  east,  then  it  will  manifestly  be  improper  to  scud  with 
the  wind  in  the  latter  part  of  the  gale,  when  the  wind  is  blowing 
from  the  westward,  because  this  would  be  to  keep  in  the  storm  as 
long  as  possible.  (134,  170.)  The  sailor  also  will  be  able  to 
know  when  he  is  out  of  danger ;  for  when  a  great  storm  has 
passed  off  to  the  east  in  middle  and  high  latitudes,  and  to  the  north 
in  low  latitudes,  on  the  north  of  the  equator,  he  will  know  that  it 
never  returns  ;  and  therefore  he  will  not  be  afraid  to  spread  his 
sails  to  the  wind,  before  the  calm  of  the  annulus  comes  upon  him. 
The  mariner  will  finally  be  able,  by  observing  storm  clouds  on  their 
approach,  to  ascertain  the  direction  in  which  storms  move,  for 
these  storm  clouds  frequently  exhibit  their  front  edge  above  the 
horizon  in  the  form  of  an  arch  ;  and  if  the  highest  part  of  the 
arch  approaches  towards  the  zenith,  then  is  the  storm  coming 
from  the  point  where  the  arch  first  appeared. 

When  a  storm  has  a  much  greater  diameter  from  north  to  south 
than  from  east  to  west,  the  wind  will  not  blow  towards  a  central 
point,  but  towards  a  central  line,  which  may  be  called  the  trans- 
verse diameter  of  the  storm. 

>  On  the  northern  end  of  the  storm,  if  it  moves  towards  the  east, 
the  wind  will  change  round  without  a  lull,  by  north  towards  the 
west;  and  on  the  southern  end  of  the  storm  the  wind  will  change 
round  without  a  lull,  by  south  towards  the  west ;  but  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  storm  the  wind  will  change  with  a  lull  from  easterly  to 
westerly.  (136,  171,  et  passim.) 

When  the  storm  is  of  great  length,  north  and  south,  the  lull  in 
the  central  parts  may  be  experienced  simultaneously,  at  consider- 
able distances  apart,  north  and  south,  which  could  not  be  the  case 
if  the  storm  was  round  ;  and  as  this  occurs  frequently  on  the  coast 
of  the  United  States,  it  is  certain,  from  that  circumstance  alone, 
that  the  centre  of  storms  is  frequently  a  line  of  great  length  ;  and 
moreover,  as  the  wind  in  the  first  part  of  the  storm  is  frequently 
south  east,  and  in  the  last  part  of  the  storm  north  west ;  and  as 


INTRODUCTION.  XXVii 

the  barometer  falls  successively  from  north  of  west  to  south  of 
east,1  it  seems  highly  probably  that  these  storms  of  oblong  form 
move  towards  the  south  of  east  (passim.*) 

In  the  West  Indies,  from  Barbadoes  to  Jamaica,  it  is  known,  by 
the  invaluable  labors  of  Redfield  and  Reid,  that  the  hurricanes 


1  See  diagram  at  the  end  of  Appendix,  pp.  550  and  551. 


2  It  seems  probable,  from  the  following  facts,  extracted  from  Orlando  Whis- 
tlecraft's  Climate  of  England,  that  thunder  storms  in  England  also  travel  from 
north  of  west  to  south  of  east. 

Page  2.  In  summer,  too,  a  south  east  wind  always  prevails  in  the  eastern 
countries  before  the  great  thunder  storms,  which  by  night  spread  themselves 
over  the  greatest  part  of  England.  These  storms  are  evidently  aided  in  their 
rise  and  progress,  or  passage  to  the  eastward,  by  a  south  west  or  west  wind 
behind  them,  which  combats  against  the  sea  breezes  so  usual  in  Kent,  Essex, 
Suffolk,  &c.,  from  south  east  or  east  during  hot  days. 

Page  7.  The  south  east  wind  blows  in  July  with  the  hottest  and  clearest 
days  for  nearly  a  week  in  the  eastern  counties,  until  vapors  arise  with  a 
south  west  current  and  form  distant  ranges  of  rocky  clouds  in  the  south  west 
horizon.  These  and  the  white  and  round  detachments  of  cirrocumulus  in 
trains  across  the  zenith,  are  the  first  clouds  after  clear  and  hot  days  indicating 
a  change,  which  takes  place  by  the  south  western  clouds  coming  on  with  a 
severe  thunder  storm  by  night  for  many  hours,  while  the  wind  continues 
east  or  south  east,  until  it  passes,  when  it  veers  to  the  south  west,  whence  the 
storm  arose. 

Page  10.  On  the  night  of  the  9th  August,  1787,  a  dreadful  thunder  storm 
came  on.  This  was  introduced  by  a  fine  and  hot  week,  with  easterly  wind, 
and  the  storm  came  on  as  usual  from  south  west,  whither  the  wind  afterwards 
veered. 

Page  22.  In  a  hot  and  clear  sunshine,  so  much  moisture  is  drawn  up  by 
evaporation,  that  many  distinct  cumuli  are  formed  by  10,  A.  M.  in  the  other- 
wise clear  sky.  These  increase  in  size  till  about  2,  P.  M.,  after  which  they 
decrease,  and  at  sunset  we  have  none  again  in  view. 

Page  27.  The  cumulus  is  truly  the  day-cloud,  beginning  to  form  itself  in  a 
previously  clear  morning,  increasing  till  2,  P.  M.,  and  then  decreasing,  until 
at  sunset  no  cloud  again  appears.  In  this  case  we  see  a  mere  speck  of  vapor, 
at  about  10,  A.  M.  in  a  summer's  day,  accumulating  till  a  semicircular  body 
is  formed,  having  a  flat  base,  while  the  upper  part,  is  somewhat  rocky  in  ap- 
pearance. 

Page  28.  As  the  cumulus  is  about  to  pass  into  the  nimbus,  the  middle  of 
the  cloud  will  represent  the  neck  of  a  mushroom,  and  the  summit  spreads  and 
overhangs  the  base  in  a  most  striking  manner,  and  the  tops  of  these  clouds 
may  be  compared  to  the  ebullition  or  at  least  to  the  effervescing  of  some  fluid. 

Page  30.  It  has  been  long  observed  by  meteorologists,  that  a  south  east 
wind  (in  the  eastern  counties  at  least,)  precedes  the  most  violent  thunder 
storms,  and  that  the  storm  itself  works  its  way  in  a  higher  current  from  the 
westward. 

Page  67.  On  the  23d  May,  1830,  an  extraordinary  cloud  began  to  rise  at 
6,  P.  M.,  and  veiled  the  south  west  in  blackest  hue  for  two  hours.  It  made 
its  way  against  the  opposing  current  below  with  a  continued  blaze  of  blue 
lightning,  and  continued  over  us  about  an  hour. 

And  on  the  3d  of  June,  at  4,  P.  M.,  a  violent  storm  came  up  against  the 
lower  current,  which  was  east  north  east. 

On  2Gth  June,  1H33,  a  thunder  storm  came  from  south  west,  wind  north 
east.  The  same  phenomenon  occurred  on  the  24th  August,  1834,  and  also  on 
the  13th  October,  1830,  and  29th  June,  1838. 


XXV111  INTRODUCTION. 

there  move  from  the  south  east  to  north  west ;  therefore  if  the 
wind  springs  up  violent  from  north  west  in  those  parts,  the  mari- 
ner may  be  sure  that  a  hurricane  is  coming  upon  him  if  he  re- 
mains stationary  ;  and  if  it  springs  up  in  any  other  direction,  he 
will  know  in  what  direction  to  sail  to  avoid  its  violence. 

This  paper  gave  rise  to  a  very  interesting  conversation,  but  from 
the  great  length  of  the  paper  itself,  we  can  only  direct  attention 
to  the  leading  points  of  the  discussion.  Professor  Stevelly  called 
the  attention  of  the  Section  to  the  fact  that  he  had,  at  the  Edin- 
burgh meeting  in  1834,  used  the  principle  of  cold,  produced  by 
rarefaction,  to  explain  what  he  called  the  secondary  formation  of 
clouds,  and  thus  the  propagation  of  storms ;  and  even  assigned 
this  rarefaction  as  the  cause  of  summer  hail,  (see  Atlien.  No.  361, 
1834). 

He  objected  to  the  main  position,  however,  in  Mr.  Espy's  theory, 
that  the  fall  of  temperature  caused  by  the  expansion  of  any  body 
of  air  rendered  light,  by  being  loaded  with  moisture  as  it  rose  in 
the  atmosphere,  was  the  same  as  the  constituent  temperature  of 
the  strata  of  air  into  which  it  rose,  that  is,  of  equal  tension.  He 
deduced  from  the  numbers  given  by  Poisson,  that  it  was  much 
greater  ;  that  a  cloud  would  be  colder  and  not  hotter  than  the  sur- 
rounding air,  and  therefore  the  violent  ascending  vortex  calculated 
upon  by  Mr.  Espy,  would  not  exist. 

Professor  Forbes  had  three  objections  to  Mr.  Espy's  theory,  1st, 
the  small  funnel  at  the  centre  of  a  tornado,  through  which  Mr. 
Espy  supposed  the  air  to  rise,  would  be  insufficient  to  vent  all  the 
air  which  would  rush,  during  a  tornado,  with  the  frightful  velocity 
we  know  it  to  attain,  through  the  constantly  enlarging  rings  sur- 
rounding that  central  funnel,  to  an  extent  of  many  hundred  miles  : 
2d,  as  the  tornado  had  a  progressive  motion,  as  Mr.  Espy  admitted, 
it  would  be  more  difficult  than  Mr.  Espy  supposed  to  deduce  from 
the  way  in  which  the  trees  in  its  path  were  thrown,  the  actual 
course  of  the  atmospheric  particles  at  any  instant,  as  each  would 
move  with  a  motion  compounded  of  two  motions,  both  varying  in 
relative  direction  and  magnitude  :  3d,  he  thought  that  all  the  va- 
por in  the  air  would  be  condensed  into  cloud  much  sooner  than 
Mr.  Espy  supposed,  and  he  thought  it  certain  that  the  small  amount 
of  heat  given  out  by  the  vapor  would  not  suffice  to  expand  the  air 
in  the  funnel  to  the  extent  required,  if  Mr.  Espy's  views  were 
correct. 

To  the  first  objection  Mr.  Espy  replied,  that  the  objection  was 
answered  in  the  paper  itself;  in  which  it  was  shown  that  the  air 
was  calm  all  round  the  tornado,  within  a  few  hundred  yards,  and 
that  it  ought  to  be  so  on  his  principles. 

To  the  second  he  answered,  that  Mr.  Redfield  had  laid  down  a 
test,  by  which  it  could  be  ascertained  with  absolute  certainty 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

whether  or  not  the  air  blew  in  towards  the  centre,  and  that  was, 
that  the  trees,  in  the  central  line  of  the  path,  should  be  found  ly- 
ing parallel  with  the  path  ;  and  he  stated  that  this  had  been  found 
to  be  the  case  in  all  the  tornadoes  which  had  been  examined. 

To  the  third  he  answered,  that  if  all  the  vapor  should  be  con- 
densed as  Professor  Forbes  thinks,  then  the  effects  produced  would 
be  much  more  violent.  Professor  Forbes  would  find,  that  if  all 
the  vapor  which  is  in  a  mass  of  air  when  the  dew  point  is  73°, 
(and  it  is  sometimes  higher  than  that  when  tornadoes  occur,) 
should  be  condensed,  the  latent  caloric  given  out  would  heat  the 
air  more  than  70°  ;  and  in  case  of  hail,  nearly  80°,  by  the  addi- 
tion of  the  caloric  of  fluidity.  Professor  Forbes  would  find,  by  a 
rigid  examination  of  the  subject,  that  all  the  vapor  is  never  con- 
densed, because  the  dew  point,  at  great  heights,  falls  by  expan- 
sion faster  than  the  temperature. 

As  to  the  question  whether  Mr.  Redfield  and  Colonel  Reid's 
theory  of  a  whirl,  or  Mr.  Espy's  radial  theory,  was  most  accord- 
ant with  fact,  Mr.  Osier  said,  that  from  the  investigation  he  had 
given  this  subject,  he  was  convinced  that  the  centripetal  action  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Espy  took  place  in  most  hurricanes.  The  particu- 
lars, he,  Mr.  Osier,  had  collected,  together  with  the  indications 
obtained  from  the  anemometers  at  Birmingham  and  Plymouth, 
satisfied  him  that  the  action  of  the  great  storm  of  the  6th  and  7th 
of  January,  1839,  was  not  rotatory  at  the  surface  of  the  earth 
when  it  passed  across  England.  He  differed,  however,  both  from 
Mr.  Espy  and  Mr.  Redfield  in  one  essential  point,  for  he  believed 
it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  have  a  violent  hurricane,  without, 
at  the  same  time,  having  both  rotatory  and  centripetal  action.  A 
storm  might  very  probably  be  generated  in  the  first  instance,  in 
the  manner  accounted  for  by  Mr.  Espy,  or  by  the  action  of  con- 
trary currents ;  in  the  first  case,  the  rush  of  air  towards  a  spot  of 
greater  or  less  diameter,  would  not  be  perfectly  uniform,  owing  to 
the  varying  state  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere  ;  this,  together 
with  the  upward  tendency  of  the  current,  would,  in  some  cases, 
produce  a  violent  eddy  or  rotatory  motion,  and  a  whirlwind  of  a 
diameter  varying  with  the  cause  would  ensue  ;  the  centripetal  ac- 
tion would  thus  be  immensely  increased,  the  whirlwind  itself  de- 
manding a  vast  supply  of  air,  which  would  be  constantly  thrown 
off  spirally  upwards,  and  diffused  over  the  upper  atmosphere,  thus 
causing  the  high  state  of  the  barometer  which  surrounds  a  storm. 
He  further  stated,  that  he  had  brought  his  theory  of  the  combined 
action  of  centripetal  and  rotatory  motion  before  the  meeting  of 
this  Association  at  Birmingham,  and  a  short  notice  of  it  would 
be  found  in  the  reports  of  the  Sections.  If  no  rotatory  action 
takes  place,  he  believed  that  we  merely  experienced  the  rush  of 
air  which  necessarily  precedes  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  or  thunder 
e 


XXX  INTRODUCTION. 

storm,  but  he  believed  that  nothing  violent  enough  to  be  called  a 
hurricane  could  take  place,  unless  a  violent  rotatory  or  whirling 
action  be  first  produced,  and  that  in  many,  and  perhaps  most  cases, 
the  rotatory  portion  is  not  in  contact  with  the  earth. 

Mr.  Arch  Smith  said,  there  was  one  point  which  must  not  be 
overlooked  in  any  correct  comparison  of  the  rival  theories.  From 
the  principle  of  the  conservation  of  areas  it  was  perfectly  certain, 
that  if  a  storm  was  caused  in  the  manner  supposed  by  Mr.  Espy, 
there  must  be  a  rotation,  greater  or  less,  in  the  centre.  Because, 
unless  the  motion  of  all  the  currents  was  accurately  directed  to 
one  point,  or  at  least  their  moments  in  a  horizontal  plane  were 
equal  to  zero,  which  was  infinitely  improbable,  a  motion  of  rota- 
tion must  be  the  result,  as  in  the  instance  of  the  motion  of  water 
in  a  funnel,  cited  by  Mr.  Espy.1  If  the  central  space  of  compar- 
ative rest  were  large,  the  whirl  might  be  imperceptible  ;  but  if 
small,  as  in  the  case  of  a  water-spout,  it  must  be  considerable. 
Without  embracing  either  theory,  he  thought  it  difficult  to  con- 
ceive, as  he  understood  Mr.  Osier  to  do,  the  motion  of  rotation  to 
be  the  primary,  and  the  centripetal  (which  indeed  would  be  cen- 
trifugal) force  to  be  the  secondary  phenomenon.  But  it  was  com- 
paratively easy  to  suppose  the  centripetal  motion  to  be  the  pri- 
mary phenomenon,  and  quite  certain  that  if  so,  there  must  result 
a  secondary  phenomenon  of  rotation,  of  which  indeed  some  indi- 
cations appeared  in  Mr.  Espy's  maps. 

In  making  some  remarks  on  the  preceding  paper,  Sir  David 
Brewster  observed,  that  it  was  impossible  to  form  any  decided 
opinion  on  the  subject,  from  the  great  want  of  well  ascer- 
tained facts ;  and  as  Mr.  Espy  had  founded  his  theory  ex- 
pressly on  observations,  often  made  by  himself,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  do  justice  to  his  ingenious  views  until  a  greater  number 
of  facts  had  been  collected.  The  facts,  too,  stated  by  Mr. 
Espy,  were  opposed  to  those  observed  by  others.  In  the  case  of 
hurricanes  or  tornadoes,  the  convergency  of' the  aerial  currents  in 
the  one  theory,  and  their  rotatory  motion  in  the  other,  were  not 
observed,  but  inferred  from  a  number  of  facts  ;  but  as  Mr.  Espy 
regarded  water-spouts  as  formed  in  the  same  manner  as  tornadoes, 

1  Mr.  Espy's  experiments  with  a  funnel,  are  in  opposition  to  the  statement 
made  here.  He  has  performed  many,  and  in  all  instances  where  care  was  taken 
to  have  the  water  still,  before  removing  the  finger  from  the  lower  end,  and 
letting  the  water  run  out,  it  discharged  the  whole  contents  without  any  whirl- 
ing motion.  The  same  occurred,  whether  a  funnel  was  used,  or  a  tub  with  a 
hole  in  the  bottom.  Mr.  Espy  acknowledges,  however,  Mr.  Smith's  doctrine 
of  the  conservation  of  areas  to  be  correct,  and  he  admits  it  as  highly  probable, 
that  spouts  sometimes  whirl  one  way,  and  sometimes  another;  but  generally 
neither  way  ;  and  in  all  cases,  the  whirl,  if  any,  would  only  be  perceptible 
very  near  the  centre.  He  first  supposed  that  all  spouts  whirled,  and  was  only 
compelled  to  abandon  this  notion  by  the  facts  themselves. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXI 

and  as  Col.  Reid  had  distinctly  stated  in  his  letter  to  Sir  David, 
already  referred  to,  that  he  had  actually  seen,  from  the  government 
house  at  Bermuda,  by  means  of  a  telescope,  the  water-spout  re- 
volving like  the  hands  on  the  dial  plate  of  a  watch,  there  could  be 
no  doubt  that  we  were  at  variance  about  facts.  This  explicit  and 
distinct  observation  of  a  rotatory  motion  by  so  able  and  accurate 
an  observer  as  Col.  Reid,  was  worth  a  thousand  inferences.  As 
to  Sir  David  Brewster's  objection,  Mr.  Espy  thought  his  paper  it- 
self contained  an  answer  to  it,  where  he  showed  that  bodies  taken 
up  on  one  side  of  the  tornado,  would  whirl  one  way,  and  bodies 
taken  up  on  the  other  side,  would  whirl  the  other.  And  it  was  wor- 
thy of  notice,  that  all  Col.  Reid's  spouts  whirl  from  left  to  right, 
and  all  Mr.  Redfield's  from  right  to  left,  on  this  side  of  the  equa- 
tor. Mr.  Espy  had  examined  a  great  many  witnesses  of  the 
Brunswick  tornado,  and  some  saw  the  materials  which  went  up, 
whirl  one  way,  and  some  another,  though  they  were  standing  to- 
gether ;  and  Professor  Strong  and  Professor  Beck  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, saw  the  materials  whirl  as  the  hands  of  a  watch,  contrary 
to  the  manner  Mr.  Redfield  says  this  and  all  other  spouts  in  this 
latitude,  whirl.  Professor  Phillips  must  say  that  he  thought  the 
statements  of  fact  connected  with  tornadoes,  as  slated  in  the 
American  journals,  were  more  consistent  with  Mr.  Espy's  than 
with  Mr.  Redfield's  theory  ;  and  Col.  Reid  thinking  he  saw  rota- 
tion in  a  water-spout  could  not  invalidate  the  abiding  evidence 
from  uprooted  forests. 

Report  of  the  Academy   of  Sciences,   (Paris),  on   the  labors  of 
J.  P.  ESPY,  concerning  Tornadoes,  fyc. 

Committee,  Messrs.  Arago,  Pouillet,  Babinet  reporter. 

Messrs.  Arago,  Pouillet,  and  myself,  have  been  appointed  by 
the  Academy  to  make  a  report  to  it  upon  the  observations  and 
theory  of  Mr.  Espy,  which  have  for  their  object  the  aerial  meteors 
known  by  the  names  of  storms,  water-spouts  and  tornadoes,  which 
cause  so  much  destruction  on  land  and  sea  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  These  storms  are  produced  in  the  same  manner 
in  every  part  of  the  globe,  when  a  few  given  circumstances  con- 
cur in  one  place. 

The  labors  of  Mr.  Espy  have  already  considerably  occupied  the 
attention  of  the  learned  world,  and  may  be  considered  under  three 
different  points  of  view.  First,  the  facts  which  he  has  recognised 
and  substantiated,  and  the  proofs  which  support  them  ;  second, 
the  physical  theory,  by  which  he  explains  them  and  the  conclu- 
sions which  he  deduces  from  that  theory  ;  third,  the  observations 
which  are  yet  to  be  made  according  to  this  theory,  based  upon 
facts,  and  the  practical  rules  which  the  mariner,  the  farmer,  and 


XXX11  INTRODUCTION. 

the  meteorologist  will  obtain  from  it ;  the  two  former  for  their  own 
benefit,  the  latter  for  science,  which  is  useful  to  all. 

The  facts  which  result  from  the  numerous  documents  which 
Mr.  Espy  has  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  committee,  are  the  fol- 
lowing :  the  motion  of  the  air  in  the  meteor  under  consideration, 
called  tornado  or  water-spout,  if  it  is  violent,  and  of  small  extent; 
a  storm,  if  it  covers  many  degrees  of  the  earth's  surface  ;  the 
motion  of  the  air,  we  say,  is  always  convergent,  either  towards  a 
single  centre,  when  the  tornado  has  a  circular  form,  and  limited 
extent,  or  towards  a  diametrical  line,  when  the  tornado  or  storm  is 
of  a  lengthened  form  and  extends  over  many  hundred  leagues. 

If  the  tornado  is  very  small,  in  which  case  the  violence  of  the 
motion  of  the  air  is  greater,  a  cloud  is  frequently  seen  in  the  cen- 
tre, whose  point  descends  more  and  more  until  it  touches  the  earth 
or  sea.  Water-spouts  are  small  tornadoes,  and  the  force  of  these 
meteors  in  the  south  and  east  of  the  United  States  is  such,  that 
trees  are  carried  up  in  the  air,  and  the  heaviest  objects  are  over- 
turned, displaced,  and  transported.  Finally,  we  have  only  to  call 
to  mind  the  well  known  storms  of  the  Antilles,  which  change  even 
the  form  of  the  ground  over  which  they  pass.  We  will  adopt  the 
technical  word  tornado  to  designate  the  meteor  in  question,  what- 
ever may  be  its  extent  or  violence.  China  and  the  neighboring 
seas,  Central  Africa  and  the  south  west  part  of  the  Indian  Ocean, 
are,  like  the  West  Indies,  the  theatre  of  meteors  of  the  same  na- 
ture, and  not  less  disastrous. 

In  observing  at  the  same  moment  the  force  and  direction  of  the 
wind,  which  is  shown  by  the  overturned  trees,  the  displaced  mov- 
able objects,  in  a  word,  by  the  traces  impressed  upon  the  soil, 
Mr.  Espy  proves  that  in  the  same  instant  the  motion  of  all  parts 
of  the  air  which  is  reached  by  the  tornado  is  tending  towards  a 
central  space,  point  or  line,  so  that  if  the  wind  on  one  side  of  the 
meteor  blows  towards  the  east,  it  blows  with  the  same  violence 
towards  the  west  on  the  other  side  of  the  tornado,  and  frequently 
at  a  very  short  distance  from  the  first  place,  whilst  in  the  centre, 
an  ascending  current  is  formed  of  astonishing  rapidity,  which, 
after  having  risen  to  a  prodigious  height,  spreads  out  on  every 
side  to  a  certain  limit,  which  we  shall  soon  determine  by  the  ob- 
servations of  the  barometer.  This  ascending  current  loses  its 
transparency  at  a  certain  height,  and  becomes  a  true  cloud  of  the 
kind  called  cumulus,  the  base  of  which  is  horizontal,  and  whose 
height  is  determined  by  the  temperature  and  humidity  of  the  at- 
mosphere. The  central  cloud  of  the  tornado  is  constantly  repro- 
duced, in  proportion  as  it  is  carried  off  by  the  rapid  current  of  the 
centre  ;  and,  according  to  Mr.  Espy,  when  rain  or  hail  proceeds 
from  this  meteor,  which  is  generally  the  case,  it  is  the  cold,  caus- 
ed by  the  expansion  of  the  air  carried  into  the  higher  regions  of 


INTRODUCTION.  XXX111 

the  atmosphere,  which  condenses  the  water.  Electricity,  when 
it  appears  in  the  tornado,  is  not,  according  to  Mr.  Espy,  essential 
to  the  phenomenon. 

The  existence  of  an  ascending  current  of  extreme  violence 
once  placed  beyond  doubt  by  the  phenomena  of  the  rising  of  the 
air,  and  its  motion  towards  a  centre  or  towards  the  great  diameter 
of  the  oblong  space  occupied  by  the  tornado,  being  well  estab- 
lished by  facts,  Mr.  Espy  examines  the  progressive  movement  of 
the  whole  meteor,  which  is  very  slow,  compared  with  the  velocity 
of  the  wind  in  the  mass  of  air  which  becomes  at  each  instant  a 
part  of  the  tornado.  Mr.  Espy  shows  that  near  the  latitude  of 
Philadelphia,  where  cirrus  clouds,  very  elevated  as  is  known, 
move  towards  the  east,  the  centre  of  the  tornado  moves  almost 
always  towards  the  east,  as  well  as  in  Europe,  where  the  west 
wind  is  predominant ;  whilst,  in  the  inter-tropical  regions,  (Bar- 
badoes,  Jamaica,  the  north  of  the  Indian  Ocean,)  the  meteor  moves 
towards  the  west  or  north  west,  following  the  course  of  the  trade 
winds.  These  assertions  are  also  verified  with  regard  to  China 
and  the  Indian  Ocean,  according  to  the  maps  of  Berghous.  The 
barometer,  in  the  centre  of  the  meteor,  is  sometimes  nearly  2.25 
of  an  inch  (sixty  millimetres,)  lower  than  towards  its  border,  and  its 
limit  is  marked  on  all  its  outline  by  a  closed  curve,  along  which 
the  barometer  is  found  to  be  at  its  "  normale  "  height,  whilst,  on 
the  other  side  of  this  line,  further  from  the  centre,  the  barometer 
is  observed  to  rise,  which  rise  in  small  tornadoes  is  .08  of  an 
inch,  (two  millimetres,)  but  which  may  be  forty  or  forty-eight 
hundredths  of  an  inch,  (ten  or  twelve  millimetres)  in  very  ex- 
tended storms.  If  the  centre  of  the  tornado  moves,  (which  may 
take  place  in  any  direction,  when  compared  with  the  diametrical 
line,)  and  the  effects  produced  by  the  motion  are  examined,  it  is 
always  found  that  if  the  meteor  has  followed  in  its  motion  the  line 
of  its  greatest  diameter,  the  tree  which  fell  the  first,  indicates  a 
point  anterior  in  the  path  of  the  meteor,  and  the  tree  which  fell 
last,  a  posterior  point.  Thus  it  is  constantly  found  that  the  trees 
which  were  overthrown  with  their  tops  turned  towards  positions 
anterior  to  the  centre  of  the  tornado,  are  covered  by  trees  falling 
in  the  direction  of  the  centre  at  a  posterior  period.  In  short,  in 
this  same  case,  the  branches  of  the  trees  not  overthrown,  growing 
on  the  side  farthest  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  line  which  the 
centre  of  the  meteor  takes,  have  followed  the  wind  and  are  twisted 
around  the  trunk  of  the  trees. 

The  circumstances  favorable  to  the  sudden  production  of  a  tor- 
nado, large  or  small,  are,  according  to  Mr.  Espy,  a  warm  and  hu- 
mid atmosphere,  covering  a  country  sufficiently  level  and  ex- 
tended, still  enough  to  allow  that  part  of  the  air  which  is  acci- 
dentally the  least  dense,  to  rise  to  a  great  perpendicular  height 
above  the  middle  of  the  heated  space  which  is  charged  with  trans- 


XXXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

parent  vapor;  moreover,  in  the  higher  regions,  a  cold  and  dry  air, 
whose  situation  and  especially  whose  density  contrasts  with  that 
of  the  ascending  current  which  dilates,  cools,  loses  its  transpar- 
ency by  the  precipitation  of  its  dampness,  keeping  notwithstanding 
a  specific  gravity  less  than  that  of  the  air  which  surrounds  it,  and 
by  its  expansion,  presenting  the  form  of  a  mushroom  or  the  head 
of  a  pine  with  or  without  the  prolongation  or  appendage  towards 
the  base,  which  appendage,  cloudy  and  opaque,  shows  a  space 
where  the  expansion  and  the  cold  are  at  their  maximum,  and 
where,  consequently,  the  precipitation  of  vapor  commences  almost 
immediately  above  the  ground  or  the  surface  of  the  sea. 

Such  are  then  the  principal  points  which  Mr.  Espy  has  obtained 
from  numerous  observations.  The  motion  of  the  air  towards  the 
centre  of  the  meteor,  the  depression  of  the  barometer  in  the  cen- 
tre, the  centra!  ascending  current,  the  formation  of  cloud  at  a  cer- 
tain height,  and  its  circular  expansion  after  this  cloud  has  attained 
a  prodigious  height,  an  expansion  accompanied  with  rain  and  hail, 
and  finally,  the  motion  of  the  whole  meteor,  en  masse ;  these,  I 
say,  are  the  points  which  the  extensive  labors  of  Mr.  Espy,  his 
own  observations,  and  the  documents  which  he  has  collected,  and 
which  he  intends  publishing  immediately  in  a  special  work,  have 
placed  beyond  doubt,  and  which  seem  even  to  have  triumphed 
over  every  objection,  and  to  have  rallied  all  opinions  to  his  own. 

Let  us  now  see  the  theory  upon  which  he  bases  his  observa- 
tions, or  rather  which  is  based  upon  these  facts  well  observed, 
well  proven,  and  always  reproduced  in  nature  with  similar  circum- 
stances. 

Mr.  Espy  thinks  that  if  a  very  extended  stratum  of  warm  and 
humid  air  at  rest,  covers  the  surface  of  a  region  of  land  or  sea, 
and  that  by  any  cause  whatever,  for  example  a  less  local  density, 
an  ascending  current  is  formed  in  this  mass  of  humid  air,  the  as- 
cending force,  instead  of  diminishing  in  consequence  of  the  ele- 
vation of  the  rising  column,  will  increase  with  the  height  of  the 
column,  exactly  as  though  a  current  of  hydrogen  was  rising 
through  the  common  air,  which  current  would  be  pushed  towards 
the  top  of  the  atmosphere,  with  a  force  and  velocity  in  proportion 
to  its  height.  This  column  of  heated  air  may  also  be  compared 
to  that  in  chimneys  and  stove-pipes,  of  which  the  draught  is  in 
proportion  to  the  height  of  the  pipe  containing  the  warm  air. 
What  then  is  the  cause  which  renders  the  warm  and  humid  as- 
cending current,  lighter  in  each  of  its  parts,  than  the  air  which  is 
found  at  the  same  height  with  these  different  portions  of  the  as- 
cending column  ? 

This  cause,  according  to  the  sufficiently  exact  calculations  [tres 
suffisament  exact]  of  Mr.  Espy,  is  the  constantly  higher  tempera- 
ture which  the  ascending  column  retains,  and  which  proceeds  from 
the  heat  furnished  by  the  partial  condensation  of  the  vapor  mixed 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXV 

with  the  air,  making  this  ascending  column  a  true  column  of 
heated  air,  that  is  to  say,  of  a  lighter  gas  ;  for  the  weight  of  the 
water  which  passes  into  the  liquid  state,  is  far  from  compensating 
the  excess  of  levity  which  proceeds  from  the  more  elevated  tem- 
perature which  the  air  preserves.  (This  weight  only  equals  one 
fifth  of  the  diminution  of  the  weight  in  ordinary  circumstances.) 

Thus,  the  higher  the  column  is,  the  greater  is  the  ascending  force, 
and  the  rushing  in  of  the  surrounding  air  on  all  sides  will  be  pro- 
duced with  more  energy.  To  understand  this  effect  better,  let  us 
consider  a  mass  of  warm  and  dry  air  rising  in  the  midst  of  a 
colder  atmosphere.  In  proportion  as  this  air  rises,  it  will  expand, 
because  of  the  less  pressure  which  it  will  experience,  and  conse- 
quently become  colder  ;  it  will  arrive  then  quickly  at  an  equili- 
brium both  of  temperature  and  pressure  with  a  layer  more  or  less 
elevated,  which  it  will  soon  reach,  and  in  which  it  will  remain  ; 
but  if  this  only  cause  of  cold,  expansion,  is  overbalanced  by  a 
cause  of  heat,  for  example  the  heat  furnished  by  the  vapor  which 
is  condensing,  this  air  will  remain  constantly  warmer  than  would 
have  been  necessary  to  attain  the  same  temperature  and  pressure 
as  the  surrounding  air.  It  will  then  be  constantly  lighter,  and  the 
higher  the  column,  the  greater  the  ascending  force. 

The  calculations  of  Mr.  Espy  show,  without  the  slightest  doubt, 
that  the  column  of  damp  air  regaining  in  temperature,  by  the 
condensing  of  the  vapor,  a  part  of  the  heat  lost  by  expansion  ; 
this  column  always  remains  warmer  than  the  air  which  is  at  the 
same  height  with  each  of  its  parts.  Finally,  Mr.  Espy  furnishes 
the  exact  data  which  are  still  wanting  to  science,  by  the  experi- 
ments made  upon  the  temperature  which  the  air  preserves  by  the 
effect  of  condensation  of  the  vapor  in  a  closed  vessel  which  he 
calls  a  "  nephelescope,"  and  in  which  he  compares  the  thermo- 
metrical  fall  produced  in  the  air  by  a  diminution  of  superincum- 
bent pressure,  to  what  takes  place  in  nature,  whether  operating  on 
dry,  or  employing  damp,  air.  Notwithstanding  the  influence  of 
the  sides  of  the  vessel,  every  time  a  light  cloud  is  formed  in  the 
apparatus,  the  temperature  undergoes  a  much  less  reduction  than 
that  which  takes  place  when  the  point  of  precipitation  of  vapor 
has  not  been  attained,  or  when  the  experiment  is  tried  on  dry  air. 

The  theory  of  Mr.  Espy  also  accounts  very  well  for  the  forma- 
tion of  a  true  cloud  analogous  to  the  cumulus  with  horizontal  base, 
from  the  moment  when  the  warm  and  damp  air  has  acquired  such 
an  expansion,  that  the  cold  produced  by  it  will  cause  a  precipita- 
tion of  water,  and  the  base  of  the  central  cloud  of  the  tornado,  if 
it  is  horizontal,  as  is  the  case  in  the  great  meteors  of  this  nature, 
should  be  lowered  in  proportion  as  the  moist  air  which  is  carried 
up  is  more  fully  charged  with  vapor  ;  this  base,  like  that  of  the 
cumulus,  being  of  necessity  found  at  the  point  where  the  temper- 


INTRODUCTION. 

ature  of  the  ascending  current  becomes  that  of  the  dew  point, 
which  itself  depends  evidently  upon  the  degree  of  dampness  of 
the  air.  This  theory  further  explains  how,  in  the  small  tornadoes, 
whose  violence  is  remarkable,  an  expansion  takes  place  in  the 
centre  of  the  meteor,  at  a  very  small  height,  sufficient  to  condense 
vapor  by  the  cold  and  consequently  to  produce  this  kind  of  ap- 
pendage which  particularly  distinguishes  small  tornadoes,  or  com- 
mon water  spouts.  Let  us  add  that  the  calculations  of  Mr.  Espy, 
upon  the  density  of  the  warm  column,  its  comparative  levity,  the 
ascending  force  of  the  current,  the  central  depression  which  is 
the  consequence  of  it,  the  rapidity  with  which  the  surrounding  air 
rushes  towards  the  place  where  the  pressure  is  diminished,  finally 
all  the  conclusions  drawn  from  the  physical  data  of  the  phenome- 
na have  been  proved  and  ascertained  with  sufficient  exactness  to 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  this  portion  of  Mr.  Espy's  theory. 

One  word  remains  to  be  said  relative  to  the  progressive  move- 
ment of  the  meteor.  This  movement  may  depend  upon  an  ordi- 
nary wind,  which,  imparting  a  common  motion  to  the  whole  atmo- 
sphere, would  not  disturb  the  ascension  of  the  column  of  moist 
air.  But  as  these  phenomena  are  produced  suddenly  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  calm,  Mr.  Espy  thinks  that,  in  accordance  with  ob- 
served facts,  the  motion  of  the  meteor  should  be  attributed  to  the 
winds,  which  predominate  in  the  upper  part  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  that  in  modern  latitudes,  this  motion  should  thus  take  place 
towards  the  east,  whilst  in  the  equatorial  regions  this  motion  should 
be  directed  towards  the  west,  as  the  current  of  the  trade  winds.  In 
a  word,  the  slight  surcharge  which  is  owing  to  the  spreading  out  of 
the  air,  around  the  top  of  the  meteor,  accounts  for  the  trifling 
elevation  of  the  barometer,  which  the  invasion  of  the  tornado,  in 
every  place  presents,  and  can  even,  according  to  Mr.  Espy,  serve 
as  a  prognostic  of  it.1  Another  result  is,  that  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  meteor,  a  feeble  wind  ought  to  be  observed,  as  is  the  case, 
whose  direction  is  opposite  to  that  of  the  air  which  is  violently 
rushing  towards  the  centre  of  the  tornado. 

The  consequences  which  Mr.  Espy  deduces  from  this  theory, 
are,  that  in  many  localities,  in  Jamaica,  for  example,  the  sea 
breezes  cause  a  motion  of  the  air  perfectly  analogous  to  that  which 
constitutes  a  tornado,  and  that  the  results  of  it  are  the  same,  name- 
ly, rain  and  tempest  at  stated  hours,  on  each  day  of  summer.  The 
same  circumstances  produce  the  same  effects  in  other  well  known 
localities,  volcanic  eruptions,  great  conflagrations  of  forests,  with 
the  favorable  circumstances  of  tranquillity,  heat,  and  moisture, 
ought  also  to  produce  ascending  currents  and  rain.  Tn  the  midst 
of  all  the  theoretical  deductions  of  Mr.  Espy,  it  should  be  remark- 

1  The  reader  will  recollect  (hat  in  the  "  Report,"  tornado  is  used  to  signify 
both  large  and  small  storms. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXVil 

ed,  that  a  descending  current  of  air  never  can  communicate  cold, 
for  this  current  would  become  warm  by  compression  in  proportion 
as  it  should  descend,  and  the  meteorological  temperature  of  many 
places  sheltered  from  the  ascending  winds,  is  considerably  aug- 
mented by  this  cause.  The  tempests  of  sand  in  many  parts  of 
Africa  and  Asia,  although  possessing  much  less  violence,  owing 
to  the  dryness  of  the  heated  air,  accord  perfectly  with  the  theory 
of  Mr.  Espy,  both  as  to  quantity  and  the  nature  of  their  effects. 

Lastly,  let  us  observe,  that  if,  in  tornadoes,  the  air  is  absorbed 
by  the  lower  portion  of  the  column,  and  not  by  the  higher  parts, 
it  is,  that  the  difference  between  the  pressure  of  the  heated  col- 
umn, and  that  of  the  surrounding  air,  is  much  more  marked,  as  it 
is  considered  lower  down,  in  the  column  of  less  density  and  equal 
elasticity,  so  that,  in  the  case  of  an  equilibrium,  at  the  lowest 
point  this  difference  would  be  precisely  the  total  difference  of  the 
whole  heated  column  to  the  whole  column  of  air  of  the  same 
height  situated  around  the  first.  The  observations  and  experi- 
ments which  have  been  suggested  to  Mr.  Espy  by  the  study  of  the 
phenomena  of  tornadoes,  and  the  theory  he  has  given  of  them 
merit  the  most  serious  attention.  It  is  very  evident  that  science 
would  be  much  benefited  by  the  establishment  of  a  system  of 
simultaneous  observations  of  the  barometer,  thermometer,  hygro- 
meter, and  especially  of  the  anemometer,  if  at  least  they  could  be 
procured  capable  of  giving  with  sufficient  accuracy  the  intensity 
of  the  wind  at  the  same  time  with  its  direction  and  the  time  of 
each  variation  of  force.  The  influence  which  electricity  exerts  in 
this  phenomenon,  remains  yet  to  be  determined.  Mr.  Espy  thinks 
that  artificial  causes,  for  example,  great  fires  kindled  in  favorable 
circumstances  of  heat,  of  tranquillity,  and  humidity,  can  cause  an 
ascending  column  of  much  less  violence,  the  useful  results  of 
which  would  be  on  the  one  hand  rain,  and  on  the  other  the  happy 
prevention  of  disastrous  storms.  It  will  be  necessary  to  see  in 
Mr.  Espy's  work  itself,  the  further  beneficial  results  to  navigation 
from  the  views  furnished  by  his  theory. 

The  different  manners  in  which  philosophers,  by  means  of  ap- 
paratus whose  principle  of  action  is  the  centrifugal  force,  have 
imitated  water-spouts  or  small  tornadoes,  do  not  appear  to  us  re- 
concilable with  Mr.  Espy's  theory,  which,  based  upon  facts, 
equally  refutes  the  idea  of  a  whirling  motion  of  the  air  in  the  tor- 
nado.1 

1  Philosophical  Magazine,  for  June,  1841.  Sir  David  Brewster  says,  "the 
theory  of  the  rotatory  character  of  storms  was  first  suggested  by  Col.  Capper, 
but  we  must  claim  for  Mr.  Redfield  the  greater  honor  of  having  fully  investi- 
gated the  subject,  and  apparently  established  the  theory  upon  an  impregnable 
basis." 


XXXVhl  INTRODUCTION. 

Here  we  should  compare  the  theory  of  Mr.  Espy  with  other 
theories,  anterior  or  contemporaneous.  The  labors  of  Franklin, 
and  of  Messrs.  Redfield,  Reid,  and  Peltier  would  furnish  as  many 
excellent  observations  and  parts,  or  the  whole  of  the  phenomena, 
very  well  studied.  But  the  extensive  discussion  which  we  should 
have  to  establish  before  deciding  in  favor  of  Mr.  Espy,  would  lead 
us  too  far.  Mr.  Espy  himself,  as  to  the  electrical  part  of  the  phe- 
nomenon, which,  however,  he  regards  as  only  accessory  and  se- 
condary, acknowledges  that  his  theory  is  less  advanced  and  less 
complete  than  it  is  with  regard  to  the  phenomena  of  the  motion 
and  precipitation  of  the  water,  which  are,  according  to  him,  the 
base  of  the  production  of  the  meteor. 

Finally,  it  is  proved  by  the  investigations  of  Mr.  Espy,  that  it 
will  be  impossible  hereafter  to  adduce  in  the  mean  [normale] 
state  of  the  atmosphere,  a  descending  current  of  air  as  a  cause  of 
cold,  or  an  ascending  current  of  dry  air,  a  cause  of  heat.  The 
applications  of  this  theory  present  themselves  in  "  climatology," 
but  this  principle  especially  discards  the  idea  of  explanation  of  the 
tornado  by  the  centrifugal  force,  which  would  then  cause  the  up- 
per air  to  descend  in  the  centre  of  the  tornado,  which  air  becom- 
ing heated  by  the  augmented  pressure,  could  not  allow  its  own 
vapor  to  be  precipitated  nor  precipitate  that  of  the  air  with  which 
H  came  in  contact. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Espy's  communication  contains  a  great  num- 
ber of  well-observed  and  well-described  facts.  His  theory,  in  the 
present  state  of  science,  alone  accounts  for  the  phenomena,  and, 
when  completed,  as  Mr.  Espy  intends,  by  the  study  of  the  action 
of  electricity  when  it  intervenes,  will  leave  nothing  to  be  desired. 
In  a  word,  for  physical  geography,  agriculture,  navigation,  and 
meteorology,  it  gives  us  new  explanations,  indications  useful  for 
ulterior  researches,  and  redresses  many  accredited  errors. 

The  committee  expresses  then,  the  wish  "that  Mr.  Espy  should 
be  placed  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  in  a  position  to 
continue  his  important  investigations,  and  to  complete  his  theory, 
already  so  remarkable,  by  means  of  all  the  observations  and  all 
experiments  which  the  deductions  even  of  his  theory  may  suggest 
to  him,  in  a  vast  country,  where  enlightened  men  are  not  wanting 
to  science,  and  which  is  besides,  as  it  were,  the  home  of  these 
fearful  meteors. 

The  work  of  Mr.  Espy  causes  us  to  feel  the  necessity  of  under- 
taking a  retrospective  examination  of  the  numerous  documents 
already  collected  in  Europe,  to  arrange  them  and  draw  from  them 
deductions  which  they  can  furnish,  and  more  especially  at  the 
present  period,  when  the  diluvial  rains,  which  have  ravaged  the 
south  east  of  France,  have  directed  attention  to  all  the  possible 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXIX 

causes  of  similar  phenomena.  Consequently,  the  committee  pro- 
poses to  the  Academy  to  give  its  approbation  to  the  labors  of  Mr. 
Espy,  and  to  solicit  him  to  continue  his  researches,  and  especially 
to  try  to  ascertain  the  influence  which  electricity  exerts  in  these 
great  phenomena,  of  which  a  complete  theory  will  be  one  of  the 
most  precious  acquisitions  of  modern  science. 
The  conclusions  of  this  report  are  adopted. 

NOTE. 

I  have  stated  in  the  Synopsis,  that  islands,  with  high  mountains  in  them, 
are  more  likely  to  have  rains  from  sea  breezes,  than  those  without  moun- 
tains. The  following  facts  go  to  confirm  that  position,  and  they  will 
be  easily  understood  from  the  theory,  without  further  explanation.  Cer- 
tainly they  are  not  to  be  explained  by  any  supposed  attraction  of  mountains 
for  clouds,  as  is  asserted  by  the  author  of  the  American  Almanack,  and  by 
many  higher  authorities.  The  facts,  indeed,  which  Mr.  Borden  gives,  prove 
that  the  cloud  is  not  attracted  to  the  mountain,  but  formed  there. 

Dr.  Campbell,  of  Lancaster,  England,  observes,  "  that  the  influence  of  hills, 
in  attracting  clouds,  is  nowhere  more  conspicuous  than  at  Kendall  ;  that  one 
third  more  rain  falls  at  Kendall  than  at  Lancaster,  a  distance  of  only  twenty 
miles,  and  that  it  is  by  no  means  unusual  to  see  from  the  church  yard  at  Lan- 
caster, the  hills  about  Kendall  enveloped  in  thick  clouds,  while  the  sky  at 
the  Lancaster  side  of  Farlton  Kriott  appears  perfectly  clear.  And  Dr.  Gar- 
nett  says,  the  summer  of  1792  was  remarkably  dry  in  Yorkshire,  and  all  the 
eastern  side  of  the  English  Appennine  was  burnt  up  for  want  of  rain  ;  while, 
on  the  western,  they  had  plenty  of  rain  and  abundant  grass."  [Transac.  of 
Royal  Irish  Acad.,  vol.  xvii.  p.  224. 

"That  the  mist  should  remain  so  nearly  stationary  on  the  top  of  Table  Hill, 
while  the  south  east  wind  continues,  is  not  surprising,  considering  the  height 
of  the  hill,  3582  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  its  precipitous  sides,  and  the 
extensive  surface  of  its  top  ;  nor  is  it  strange  that  it  should  rarely  descend, 
except  when  the  wind  blows  hard,  taking  into  account  the  situation  of  the 
ground  beneath,  sheltered  and  warm,  and  the  site  of  a  large  town,  from 
which  a  current  of  hot  air  must  constantly  be  rising."  [Mr.  John  Davy. 
Tilloch's  Magazine,  vol.  li.  p.  35. 

"  The  air  on  the  summit,  which  rises  to  the  height  of  3582  feet  above  the 
level  of  Table  Bay,  in  the  clear  weather  of  winter,  and  in  the  shade,  is  gene- 
rally about  fifteen  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  scale  lower  than  in  Cape  Town. 
In  the  summer  season  the  difference  is  much  greater,  when  that  well  known 
appearance  of  the  fleecy  cloud,  not  inaptly  called  the  table  cloth,  envelopes 
the  summit  of  the  mountain.  In  the  heat  of  the  summer  season,  when  the 
south  east  monsoon  blows  strong  at  sea,  the  water  taken  up  by  evaporation 
is  borne  in  the  air  to  the  continental  mountains,  where,  being  condensed,  it 
rests  on  their  summits  in  the  form  of  a  thick  cloud.  This  cloud,  and  a  low 
dense  bank  of  fog  on  the  sea,  are  the  precursors  of  a  similar  but  lighter 
fleece  on  the  Table  Mountain,  and  of  a  strong  gale  of  wind  in  Cape  Town 
from  the  south  east.  These  effects  may  be  thus  accounted  for :  The  con- 
densed air  on  the  summit  of  the  mountains  of  the  continent,  rushes,  by  its 
superior  gravity,  towards  the  more  rarefied  atmosphere  over  the  isthmus, 
and  the  vapor  it  contains  is  there  taken  up  and  held  invisible,  or  in  transpa- 
rent solution.  From  hence  it  is  carried  by  the  south  east  winds  towards  the 
Table  and  its  neighboring  mountains,  where,  by  condensation  from  decreased 
temperature  and  concussion,  the  air  is  no  longer  capable  of  holding  the  va- 
por with  which  it  was  loaded,  but  is  obliged  to  let  it  go.  The  atmosphere 


xl  INTRODUCTION. 

on  the  summit  of  the  mountain  becomes  turbid,  the  cloud  is  shortly  formed, 
and,  hurried  by  the  wind  over  the  verge  of  the  precipice  in  large  fleecy  vol- 
umes, rolls  down  the  steep  sides  towards  the  plain,  threatening  momentarily 
to  deluge  the  town.  No  sooner,  however,  does  it  arrive  in  its  descent  at 
the  point  of  temperature  equal  to  that  of  the  atmosphere  in  which  it  has 
floated  over  the  isthmus,  than  it  is  once  more  taken  up,  arid  'vanishes  into 
air  —  to  thin  air.'  "  [John  Barton.  Tilloch,  vol.  x.  p.  225. 

The  doctrine  of  concussion  producing  condensation  of  aqueous  vapor,  has 
no  foundation  in  nature.  It  is  surprising  to  me,  that  Mr.  Barton  should  not 
have  known  the  principle,  that  cold,  by  the  expansion  of  the  air  as  it  ascends 
the  sides  of  mountains,  is  sufficient  to  produce  condensation.  It  is  a  principle 
long  familiar  to  the  scientific  world,  and  it  is  one  which  I  used  in  my  early 
writings,  as  belonging  to  the  great  storehouse  of  science,  as  common  proper- 
ty, without  even  inquiring  who  was  the  original  discoveier,  or  who  first  saw 
a  cloud  form  in  the  receiver  of  an  air  pump  on  extracting  the  air.  Mr.  H. 
Meikle  claims  this  discovery  as  original.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  he  shall 
never  be  deprived  of  that  honor;  I  lay  no  claim  to  it.  (See  Appendix, 
page  547.) 

Facts  communicated  by  Simeon  Borden,  Esq.,  of  Boston.  "  In  the  western 
part  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  there  are  many  mountains  of  considerable 
elevation.  Amongst  them  I  have  spent  much  time  in  the  course  of  three  or 
four  years  just  past.  The  following  phenomena  are  of  almost  every  day  oc- 
currence : 

"  One  day,  as  I  was  standing  near  the  base  of  the  Watatick  mountain,  (a 
mountain  about  two  thousand  feet  in  height,)  looking  at  the  clouds,  which 
•were  apparently  resting  upon  its  top  at  that  time, — the  wind  was  blowing 
briskly  from  some  southerly  point;  the  day  was  remarkably  pleasant,  the 
sun  shone  brilliantly,  and  the  cloud  which  capt  the  mountain  was  not  large, 
—  I  observed  frequently,  upon  the  windward  side  of  the  mountain's  top,  that 
many  square  yards  of  transparent  atmosphere  would  occasionally  become 
suddenly  transformed  into  a  dense  fog  or  cloud,  which  would  then  pass  with 
the  current  of  the  atmosphere  across  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  would  then 
as  suddenly  vanish  into  transparent  atmosphere  again,  resembling  in  its 
transformation,  very  much  in  form  or  shape,  that  of  a  vanishing  flame  of  fire. 
1  noticed  at  other  times,  that  although  the  wind  would  frequently  be  blowing 
briskly,  still  tho  cloud  would  apparently  remain  stationary  upon  the  moun- 
tain top  ;  sometimes  it  would  however  appear  to  enlarge,  and  then  again 
would  diminish,  and  pretty  uniformly  in  fair  weather  would  rise  from  and 
leave  the  mountain  top  entirely  near  midday." 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


SECTION  FIRST. 


THEORY   DEDUCED   FROM    PHYSICAL    LAWS. 

1.  THE  experiments  of  the  illustrious  Dalton  and  Gay- 
Lussac  have  shown  that  when  the  dew  point  is  80°  Fahren- 
heit, and  the  barometer  30  inches,  the  quantity  of  vapor  in 
atmospheric  air  is  one  forty-eighth  of  the  whole  weight  and 
one  thirtieth  of  the  whole  bulk  ;  when  the  dew  point  is  71°, 
the  quantity  is  one-fourth  less;  and  when  the  dew  point  is 
59°,  the  quantity  of  vapor  is  only  one  half  as  much  as  when 
it  is  80° ;  and  at  39°,  the  quantity  would  be  reduced  to  one 
quarter,  &c. 

2.  It  is  well  known  by  observation  that  the  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere  falls  about  one  degree  for  every  hundred 
yards  above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  in  temperate  latitudes, 
at  a  mean,  in  the  summer  season,  and  a  little  less,  perhaps, 
in  winter  :  and  in  the  torrid  zone  at  all  seasons,  it  is  pro- 
bable this  quantity  is  near  the  truth.     This  rule  extends  to 
the  height  of  seventy  or  eighty  hundred  yards  at  least. 

3.  It  is  known  by  direct  experiment  and  also  indirectly 

1 


2  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

by  the  velocity  of  sound,  that  when  air  is  expanded  by  di- 
minished pressure,  it  becomes  colder  at  a  rate  not  differing 
very  widely  from  that  which  obtains  in  the  atmosphere ;  so 
that  if  dry  air  were  to  ascend  in  the  atmosphere,  it  would, 
by  expansion,  cool  down  about  one  degree  for  every  hundred 
yards  of  its  ascent ;  or  perhaps  a  little  more. 

4.  It  has  been. shown  by  many  experimenters,  particularly 
by  Berard  and  Delaroche,  and  also  by  Clement  and  De- 
sormes,  that  the  specific  caloric  of  atmospheric  air  under  a 
mean  pressure,  is  about  one  quarter,  that  of  water  being 
one. 

5.  It  is  also  known  that  the  latent  caloric  of  the  vapor  of 
water  at  zero,  is  1212°  Fahrenheit,  and  that  as  the  tem- 
perature of  the  vapor  increases,  the  latent  caloric  diminishes 
in  the  same  proportion,  so  that  the  latent  and  sensible  calo- 
ric of  vapor,  when  added  together,  will  always  make  1212°. 

6.  It  is  known  also  that  the  caloric  of  liquidity  of  water 
is  140°  Fahrenheit;  or  that  water,  on  freezing,  gives  out 
140°  of  caloric. 

7.  As  the  specific  gravity  of  steam  or  vapor  is  about  T6oV<r 
of  that  of  the  air  at  the  same  temperature,  if  a  portion  of 
air  near  the  earth's  surface  should  have  a  dew  point  of  the 
temperature  of  80°,  when  by  article  1  the  quantity  of  vapor 
would   be  one  forty-eighth  of  the  whole  weight,  it  will 
be  readily  perceived  by  calculation  that  its  specific  gravity 
will  be  to  that  of  dry  air,  as  seventy-nine  to  eighty.     And 
if  a  column  of  air  eighty  feet  high,  with  such  a  dew  point, 
could  be  introduced  into  a  surrounding  atmosphere  of  the 
same  temperature  absolutely  dry,  it  would,  by  the  principle 
of  spouting  fluids,  begin  to  move  upwards  with  a  head  of 
pressure  of  one  foot,  or  with  a  velocity  of  eight  feet  per 
second. 

8.  If  the  surrounding  air  should  not  be  absolutely  dry, 
but  have  some  lower  dew  point,  this  column  would  still 
move  upwards,  though  with  a  less  velocity,  and  continue 


THEORY  DEDUCED   FROM   PHYSICAL  LAWS. 

its  motion  (provided  it  is  large  enough  to  remain  en  masse) 
to  the  surface  of  the  atmosphere ;  unless  it  becomes  colder 
than  the  surrounding  air,  or  enters  into  air  of  as  high  a  dew 
point. 

9.  The  latter  case  is  not  likely  to  happen ;  for  it  is  known 
by  observation  that  at  great  heights,  the  air  becomes  sud- 
denly very  dry,  and  the  former  cannot  possibly  occur,  for 
the  following  reason  :  as  the  air  in  question  contains  ¥\  of 
its  weight  in  vapor,  by  calculating  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples contained  in  articles  4  and  5  it  will  be  found  that 
vapor  contains,  at  the  temperature  of  12°,  latent  caloric 
enough  to  heat  up  forty-eight  times  its  weight  of  air  100° 
Fahrenheit;    and  therefore,  by  the   time  it  ascends  high 
enough  to  condense  by  refrigeration  one  half  of  its  vapor 
into  water,  it  will  be  less  cold  by  50°  than  it  would  have 
been,  had  it  been  dry  air  ascending  to  that  height;  and  then, 
according  to  article  3,  it  would  be  50°  warmer  than  the  sur- 
rounding air  at  that  height.     The  diminution  of  bulk  by 
the  condensation  of  this  quantity  of  vapor  would  be  by  arti- 
cle 1,  ^y  of  the  whole :  and  as  it  is  known  that  air  at  32° 
is  expanded  ¥|<y  of  its  bulk  for  every  degree  of  Fahrenheit, 
and  as  the  mean  temperature  of  the  column  would  be  about 
32°,  its  bulk  would  be  increased  by  the  evolution  of  50°  of 
latent  caloric,  -gfo  of  the  whole,  or  six  times  as  much  as  it 
was  diminished  by  the  condensation  of  the  vapor  to  water. 
And  as  the  dew  point  of  the  ascending  column  would  al- 
ways be  much  higher  than  that  of  the  surrounding  atmos- 
phere at  the  height  to  which  the  column  had  ascended,  its 
specific  gravity  would  be  less  on  this  account ;  and  on  the 
whole,  at  the  moment  when  one  half  its  vapor  was  turned 
to  water,  its  specific  gravity,  when  compared  to  that  of  the 
surrounding  air  at  the  same  height,  would  be  about  as  seven 
to  eight. 

10.  It  thus  appears  that  whenever  a  cloud  is  formed  in 
the  atmosphere  by  refrigeration,  the  mass  of  air  in  which 


4  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  cloud  is  formed  is  prevented  from  contracting  as  much 
as  it  would  otherwise  do,  by  the  latent  caloric  given  out  at 
the  moment  of  the  condensation  of  the  vapor,  and  that  too 
exactly  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  vapor  condensed. 

11.  The  velocity  of  the  cloud  upwards  will  therefore  de- 
pend on  its  perpendicular  depth  and  on  the  height  of  the 
dew  point;   for  on  this  last  will  depend  the  quantity  of 
vapor  condensed  during  the  upward  motion  of  the  air.    The 
theory  will  best  be  illustrated  by  calculating  a  particular 
case. 

12.  Suppose  the  dew  point  at  71°,  when  by  article  I  the 
quantity  of  vapor  in  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  is 
•^  of  the  whole  weight.     Suppose  also  the  temperature  to 
be  75°,  or  4°  above  the  dew  point;  suppose  a  column  to  be- 
gin to  rise  either  from  superior  heat  or  superior  moisture : 
and  suppose  an  extreme  case,  unfavorable  to  the  theory,  that 
the  column  in  ascending  cools  by  expansion  one  and  a  half 
degrees  for  every  hundred  yards  of  ascent,  while  the  atmos- 
phere around  the  column  is  only  one  degree  colder  for  a 
hundred  yards ;   the  effect  will  be,  that  the  column  will 
ascend  only  a  little  more  than  three  hundred  yards  when 
some  of  its  vapor  will  begin  to  condense.     Now  to  ascertain 
what  its  temperature  shall  be  at  any  particular  height,  sixty 
hundred  yards  for  instance,  we  have  only  to  find  a  point 
below  75°,  at  which  sufficient  vapor  will  be  condensed  to 
heat  up  the  air  as  many  degrees  as  this  point  wants  of  being 
one  degree  and  a  half  below  75,  for  every  hundred  yards  of 
ascent,  or  in  the  present  case  90°.     For  as  in  this  case  the 
air  is  supposed  to  fall  in  temperature  90°,  in  ascending  sixty 
hundred  yards,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  its  falling  this 
quantity  but  the  latent  caloric  evolved  in  the  condensation  of 
the  vapor.   Now  by  examining  a  table  of  the  dew  point  (129), 
according  to  Dalton,  it  will  be  found  that  if  the  temperature 
falls  48°,  it  will,  after  making  allowance  for  the  increased 
space  it  occupies,  condense  f  £  of  its  vapor,  sufficient  to  heat 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM   PHYSICAL  LAWS.  5 

up  the  air  42°,  which  being  added  to  48°  makes  up  the  90° 
which  it  would  have  fallen  if  there  had  been  no  latent 
caloric  in  the  vapor  condensed. 

But  as  the  atmosphere  on  the  outside  of  the  ascending 
column  is  60°  colder  at  the  elevation  of  sixty  hundred  yards, 
and  within  the  column  only  48°  colder,  the  specific  gravity 
of  the  cloud  will  be  at  least  ¥V  less  than  the  outer  air  at  the 
same  elevation,  even  without  allowing  anything  for  the  140° 
of  latent  caloric  given  out  by  the  congelation  of  the  water. 
In  this  calculation,  no  allowance  is  made  for  the  greater 
specific  heat  of  rarefied  air,  but  this  will  be  fully  compen- 
sated by  the  140°  given  out  by  the  congelation  of  the  water, 
and  by  the  higher  dew  point  in  the  column  than  in  the  sur- 
rounding air. 

13.  If  it  had  been  assumed  that  air,  in  ascending,  falls 
only  one  degree  for  a  hundred  yards,  then,  according  to  the 
same  mode  of  calculation,  it  will  be  found  that  by  falling 
36°,  making  allowance  for  the  greater  space  now  occupied 
by  the  air,  sufficient  vapor  would  be  condensed  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  the  air  24°,  and  then,  24°  added  to  the  36°, 
will  make  up  60°,  which  would  have  been  the  actual  de- 
pression of  temperature  in  ascending  sixty  hundred  yards, 
if  the  vapor  had  contained  no  latent  caloric. 

It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  the  actual  depression  of 
temperature  of  air  on  being  rarefied  by  diminished  pressure, 
would  be  greater  than  one  degree  and  a  half  for  every  hun- 
dred yards  of  ascent ;  but  even  if  it  should  be  two  degrees, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  latent  caloric  evolved  when  the 
dew  point  is  high,  would  prevent  it  from  falling  one  degree 
for  every  hundred  yards  of  perpendicular  ascent,  and  there- 
fore, even  in  this  case,  its  specific  gravity  would  be  con- 
stantly less  than  that  of  the  atmosphere  at  its  own  elevation. 

14.  If  we  suppose  a  very  narrow  column  of  air  to  begin 
to  rise,  as  mentioned  in  article  12,  and  a  cloud  to  be  formed 
in  it  reaching  to  a  height  where  the  barometer  would  stand 


O  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

only  one-fourth  of  thirty  inches,  it  will  be  then  at  a  tem- 
perature of  one  degree  at  the  upper  end,  and  will  have  con- 
densed two-thirds  of  its  vapor  capable  of  heating  the  con- 
taining air  50°,  and  then,  according  to  article  13,  it  will  be 
50°  warmer  than  the  surrounding  air  at  that  height.  And 
.  as  the  vapor  condenses  more  rapidly  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
column  than  in  the  upper,  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
whole  column  may  safely  be  taken  at  25°  above  the  sur- 
rounding air;  therefore,  the  mean  temperature  of  the  air 
being  about  32°,  the  expansion  of  the  columnar  air  will  be 
about  ^y,  which  would  cause  the  mercury  in  the  barome- 
ter to  be  depressed  about  one  inch  and  a  fifth,  and  cause  a 
velocity  in  the  column  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  feet  per  second. 

15.  The  quantity  of  rain  produced  by  the  refrigeration  of 
this  ascending  column,  would  be  five  inches  in  one  minute 
and  twenty  seconds,  if  it  were  all  to  fall  on  a  space  equal 
in  area  to  the  area  of  the  column.     This,  however,  could 
seldom  happen,  as  the  drops  of  rain  would  be  carried  up- 
wards to  a  height  greatly  beyond  the  region  of  perpetual  con- 
gelation, and  thrown  off  at  the  sides  in  the  form  of  hail 

16.  The  dew  point  in  the  above  calculation  was  assumed 
at  71° ;  if  it  had  been  taken  at  80°,  to  which  it  sometimes 
rises  at  Philadelphia,  it  would  have  been  found  that  the 
barometer  would  in  that  case  descend  one  inch  and  nine- 
tenths,  and  all  the  other  effects  would  be  proportionably 
aggravated. 

17.  It  will  readily  be  perceived  that  the  air  will  spread 
out  more  rapidly  at  the  upper  end  of  the  column  than  it 
runs  in  below,  and  thus,  at  some  distance  from  the  column, 
especially  in  front  of  the  storm  at  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
the  barometer  will  rise,  and  the  effect  of  this  will  be  to  in- 
crease the  velocity  of  the  ascending  column,  for  which  no 
allowance  is  made  in  the  preceding  calculation. 

18.  It  will  also  be  perceived,  that  the  air  under  the  col- 


THEORY  DEDUCED   FROM   PHYSICAL  LAWS.  7 

umn  being  relieved  from  a  pressure  equal  to  an  elevation 
of  more  than  ten  hundred  yards,  will  fall  in  temperature 
more  than  10°,  and  of  course  the  cloud  will  reach  the  earth, 
unless  the  temperature  of  the  air  should  be  about  10°  above 
the  dew  point,  in  which  case  it  will  reach  very  near  to  the 
earth. 

19.  In  this  case  there  will  be  a  spout,  and  the  air  below 
the  cloud  reaching  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  trees  will 
be  thrown  inwards,  and  also  forwards,  if  the  spout  has  a 
motion  along  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

20.  The  spout  must  have  a  motion  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  if  there  is  a  current  of  air  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
column,  for  this  current  will  move  the  upper  end  of  the 
column  in  its  own  direction,  and  the  lower  end  will  imme- 
diately advance  with  it.     And  as  it  is  known  that  the  upper- 
most stratum  of  air  in  which  clouds  appear,  moves  con- 
stantly at  Philadelphia,  and  probably  throughout  the  north- 
ern temperate  zone,  from  a  point  a  little  south  of  west ;  and 
as  it  is  certain  that  the  upper  end  of  the  spout  reaches  far 
into  this  stratum,  the  motion  of  the  spouts  in  this  climate 
should  be  generally  in  this  direction,  or  to  a  point  a  little 
north  of  east.     Indeed,  they  will  always  move  in  this  direc- 
tion unless  they  meet  with  a  middle  stratum  of  air  moving 
in  a  different  direction. 

21.  The  narrower  the  spout  is,  the  more  readily  will  the 
air  at  the  upper  end  be  able  to  spread  out  and  leave  the 
column  below  free  from  the  pressure  of  accumulation,  and 
the  more  violent  will  be  its  effects  at  the  surface  of  the 
earth. 

22.  If  the  dew  point  should  be  much  below  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  air,  the  visible  spout  or  cloud  will  not  reach  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  then  the  rain  falling  through  the 
lower  atmosphere  may,  partly  by  its  impulse  and  partly  by 
its  cooling  influence,  (thus  increasing  its  specific   gravity) 
cause  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  to  move  outwards 


8  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

in  all  directions  from  the  centre  of  the  shower,  especially 
in  front,  while  all  the  time,  the  air  at  some  distance  above 
is  running  inwards  from  the  circumference  of  the  cloud  at 
its  lower  borders,  and  of  course  upwards  in  the  centre,  and 
outwards  in  the  upper  parts.  If  we  suppose  a  dew  point 
20°  below  the  temperature  of  the  air,  we  shall  find,  by  cal- 
culating according  to  the  law  (article  3,)  that  the  lower 
borders  of  the  cloud  will  be  a  little  more  than  twenty  hun- 
dred yards  high  ;  and  when  the  dew  point  is  nearer  the 
temperature  of  the  air,  the  cloud  will  be  nearer  the  earth  at 
the  lower  extremity.  This  reasoning  applies  to  clouds  of 
moderate  size. 

23.  But  if  the  cloud  is  of  great  size,  then  the  supply  of 
air  to  keep  up  the  ascending  column  cannot  be  afforded 
without  reaching  down  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  even 
when  the  lower  part  of  the  cloud  may  be  at  a  considerable 
distance  above  the  surface  of  the  earth.     Thus  the  law  will 
become  general,  that  in  all  very  great  and  widely  extended 
rains  or  snows,  the  wind  will  blow  towards  the  centre  of  the 
storm. 

24.  From  this  law  it  will  be  easy  to  understand  (when  a 
round  storm  is  in  our  neighborhood)  not  only  the  direction 
in  which  it  is  raging,  but  the  course  in  which  it  is  moving. 

For  let 

c 


West 

D 

A  E  B  be  the  direction  in  which  the  centre  of  a  storm  is 
moving,  say  from  west  to  east,  and  C  an  observer  to  the 
north  of  that  line,  and  D  one  to  the  south,  when  the  storm 
conies  within  disturbing  influence,  as  at  A,  the  observer  C 
will  have  the  wind  to  begin  to  blow  from  a  point  north  of 
east,  and  the  observer  D  from  a  point  south  of  east,  and  to 
the  observer  E,  due  east.  When  the  storm  shall  have  ad- 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  9 

vanced  to  E,  the  wind  to  observer  C  will  be  changed  round 
to  north,  and  to  observer  D  to  south,  blowing  at  that  time 
with  its  greatest  violence ;  whilst  to  observer  E,  it  will  be 
calm,  without  having  changed  its  direction,  only  having 
gradually  increased  in  violence,  as  the  borders  of  the  storm 
approached,  and  gradually  diminished  in  violence  as  the 
centre  approached.  Moreover,  if  the  storm  is  very  violent 
and  not  very  wide,  the  barometer  at  E  will  be  very  low 
when  the  centre  of  the  storm  is  there,  and  there  will  at  that 
time  be  no  rain;  for  the  upward  motion  of  the  air  will 
carry  with  it  the  drops  of  rain,  and  throw  them  off  at  the 
sides ;  but,  in  the  mean  time,  it  will  continue  there  very  dark 
and  cloudy. 

As  the  storm  passes  onwards  towards  B,  the  wind  will 
suddenly  commence  blowing  from  the  west  at  E,  increasing 
in  force  there  for  some  time  after  it  begins  to  diminish  its 
violence  at  C  and  D,  where  it  is  now  changing  round  re- 
spectively to  west  of  north,  and  west  of  south.  In  like 
manner  it  may  be  shown,  if  the  storm  moves  in  any  other 
direction,  that  this  direction  may  be  ascertained  by  a  single 
observer,  provided  the  storm  is  round. 

25.  If  the  velocity  with  which  storms  travel  along  the 
surface  of  the  earth  shall  be  ascertained,  then  not  only  their 
direction  but  their  distance  from  a  single  observer  may  be 
known  from  the  angular  velocity  with  which  the  wind 
changes. 

26.  If  it  should  be  found,  by  further  observation,  that  the 
uppermost  currents  of  the  air  give  direction   to  storms,  it 
seems  probable  that  near  the  equator  they  will  be  found  to 
move  from  east  to  west.     For,  on  the  principle  of  the  con- 
servation of  areas,  when   the  air  at  the  equator  rises  ten 
miles  from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  it  will  be  ¥^F  farther 
from  the  centre,  and  of  course  it  will  fall  back  towards  the 
west  by  more  than  ^J^  of  the  equatorial  velocity  of  the 
earth,  eastwardly  by  its  diurnal  motion,  or  about  two  and  a 

2 


10  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

half  miles  per  hour,  besides  the  motion  which  it  may  have 
had  towards  the  west  at  the  earth's  surface. 

27.  As  this  air  rolls  off  down  the  inclined  plane  of  the 
surface  of  the  atmosphere  towards  the  poles,  it  will,  while 
near  the  equator,  fall  a  little  west  of  the  meridian,  but  it 
will  recede  from  the  equator  a  few  degrees  only  before  by 
the  diminished  diurnal  velocity  of  the  latitude  to  which  it 
has  arrived,  it  will  first  move  along  the  meridian,  and  then 
east  of  it,  and  thus,  perhaps,  storms  near  the  northern  tropic 
will  be  found  to  move  towards  the  north,  and  storms  near 
the  southern  tropic  towards  the  south. 

That  the  air  does  roll  down  an  inclined  plane  in  the 
upper  parts  of  the  atmosphere  from  the  equator  towards  the 
poles  will  appear  from  the  consideration  that  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  air  in  the  torrid  zone  is  about  80°  greater 
than  in  the  frigid  zones,  and  as  the  mean  temperature  of 
the  air  in  the  frigid  zones  is  about  zero,  the  air  is  5\0F  of  its 
whole  height  higher  at  the  equator  than  at  the  poles,  or  in- 
deed very  nearly  that  much  higher  at  the  tropics  than  at 
the  polar  circles. 

The  greater  quantity  of  vapor,  too,  in  the  equatorial  air, 
will  cause  it  to  stand  about  ^  higher  than  the  polar  air, 
and,  from  these  united  causes,  if  the  polar  atmosphere  is 
forty  miles  high,  the  equatorial  will  be  about  forty-eight 
miles. 

It  is  of  great  consequence  to  meteorology,  that  the  direc- 
tion and  velocity  of  these  uppermost  currents  in  the  at- 
mosphere should  be  ascertained. 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  that  the  fall  of  an  immense 
quantity  of  ashes  on  Barbadoes  in  1812,  upon  an  eruption 
of  a  volcano  in  St.  Vincent,  proved  that  the  current  of  air 
at  a  great  elevation  in  the  torrid  zone,  is  from  west  to  east. 

But  when  it  is  considered  that  the  force  of  a  rapidly 
rising  column. of  air  is  great  enough  to  cause  the  upper 
parts  of  this  column  to  puff  out  even  against  a  strong  wind, 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.        11 

we  are  warranted,  from  this  circumstance  alone,  in  reject- 
ing the  above  inference. 

If,  indeed,  the  evidence  was  positive  that  no  ashes  fell  to 
the  west  of  St.  Vincent,  a  current  from  the  west  in  that 
particular  case  would  be  established.  But  here  the  volcano 
which  broke  out  in  Central  America  in  January,  1835, 
comes  to  our  aid;  for  this  volcano  threw  its  ashes  in  all 
directions,  many  hundred  miles;  to  Jamaica  in  the  east, 
and  to  the  Pacific  in  the  west. 

Also  the  volcano  of  Tombora,  hereafter  to  be  mentioned, 
carried  its  ashes  forty  miles  to  the  east,  two  hundred  miles 
to  the  north,  and  three  hundred  to  the  west.  The  phe- 
nomena accompanying  these  two  volcanoes,  especially  when 
connected  with  theoretical  reasons,  render  it  probable  that 
an  upper  current  of  air  as  well  as  a  lower  prevails  in  the 
torrid  zone,  from  the  east,  and  if  so  it  will  give  direction  to 
storms  in  those  latitudes  towards  the  west. 

I  might  go  on  to  draw  many  other  deductions,  purely 
theoretical;  but  it  will  be  more  profitable  to  shew  the  power 
of  the  theory  in  explaining  phenomena,  and  to  see  whether 
facts  alone  do  not  prove  its  truth. 

It  has  been  known,  ever  since  the  days  of  Franklin, 
who  first  discovered  the  fact,  that  our  great  N.  E.  storms 
at  Philadelphia  commence  to  the  S.  W.,  and  Mr.  Redfield 
of  New  York  has  shown  that  several  hurricanes  in  the 
West  Indies  travelled  from  the  south  towards  the  north, 
gradually  leaning  towards  the  east  as  they  approached  the 
continent,  and  that  in  all  instances  the  wind  set  in  from  a 
northern  quarter,  and  terminated  from  a  southern  quarter. 

It  appears,  also,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  of  Septem- 
ber, 1772,  that  at  St.  Eustatias,  on  the  31st  August  of  that 
year,  the  wind  sprang  up  at  north  about  eight  o'clock  A.  M., 
increased  till  twelve,  then  changed  to  east  till  one  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  then  S.  S.  E.  where  it  blew  a  most  terrible  gale  till 
twelve  at  night.  At  Santa  Cruz,  W.  N.  W.  of  St.  Eustatias, 


12  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

about  miles,  it  commenced  about  four  P.  M.  of  the  same 

day  from  N.  N.  W.  to  N.  W.,  and  continued  at  that  point 
till  ten  at  night ;  then  a  lull  for  about  half  an  hour,  when 
the  wind  chopped  round  to  S.  W.,  and  blew  with  greater 
violence  for  about  two  hours.  Now  if  we  suppose  that  the 
centre  of  this  storm  passed  along  a  line  lying  nearly  N.  W, 
and  S.  E.  between  the  two  islands,  the  conditions  of  the 
theory  would  be  exactly  answered.  At  all  events  the 
wind  was  blowing  a  hurricane  from  one  to  ten  hours,  in 
opposite  directions,  towards  a  point  nearly  between  the  two 
islands ;  and  when  the  wind  changed  at  Santa  Cruz  it  went 
by  west,  as,  by  the  theory,  it  ought  to  have  done,  since  the 
wind  at  St.  Eustatias  at  that  time  was  blowing  in  a  direc- 
tion, which  would  pass  to  the  east  of  Santa  Cruz.  The 
lull  however  at  Santa  Cruz  for  half  an  hour,  would  seem  to 
imply  that  the  centre  of  the  storm  passed  near  the  place  of 
observation. 

In  Edwards's  History  of  Jamaica,  volume  3,  page  620, 
the  author  says,  "  immediately  before  the  storm  begins  the 
wind  commonly  blows  hard  for  an  hour  or  two  from  the 
west;  which  never  happening  but  on  such  an  occasion,  the 
tempest  may  with  great  certainty  be  expected  to  follow. 
They  begin  from  the  north,  veer  back  to  the  N.  W.,  then 
W.  and  S.  S.  W.,  and  when  got  round  to  S.  E.  the  foul 
weather  breaks  up."  The  author  says,  "  the  wind  always 
changes  round  this  way;"  but  as  he  lived  on  the  south  side 
of  the  island,  at  Spanish  Town,  it  is  quite  possible,  that  on 
the  north  side  of  the  island,  the  wind  may  frequently  back 
round  the  other  way.  Indeed,  this  is  highly  probable, 
independent  of  theory,  from  the  statement  made  in  page 
608;  that  "  when  the  wind  is  S.  and  S.  W.  on  the  south 
side  of  the  island,  it  is  often  northeasterly  on  the  north  side, 
attended  with  very  heavy  rains."  And  again,  he  says, 
page  625,  "  it  is  curious  to  remark  here  the  constant  seem- 
ing attraction  between  the  mountains  and  the  rain."  The 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  13 

rains  fall  heaviest  on  the  mountains,  the  clouds  tend  to 
them,  "  and  it  is  frequently  seen  raining  there  when  it  is 
perfectly  dry  on  the  plains  below."  Now  if  all  these  facts 
be  taken  in  connexion  with  the  great  fall  of  the  barometer, 
which  the  author  says  accompanies  these  storms,  amount- 
ing to  one  inch  and  eight-tenths  when  the  wind  is  S.  W. 
and  attended  with  great  rain,  it  is  certain,  on  dynamical 
principles,  that  the  wind  blows  towards  the  storm,  and 
therefore  it  must  ascend  in  the  region  of  the  storm  itself. 
And  as  it  sometimes  hails,  we  may  infer  that  drops  of  rain 
are  carried  upwards  at  least  three  miles  or  more,  to  reach 
the  elevation  of  perpetual  congelation  in  that  low  latitude. 

28.  From  the  following  hint  of  Shotte,  in  the  Royal  Phi- 
losophical Transactions  for  1780,  it  appears  that  tornadoes 
on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  in  latitude  16°  north  have 
the  same  direction.    He  says,  in  the  rainy  season,  beginning 
about  the  15th  of  July,  the  wind  is  generally  between  east 
and  south,  from  whence  the  tornadoes  come.     As  the  tor- 
nado approaches  the  breeze  dies  away,  and  a  calm  suc- 
ceeds just  before  the  tornado  comes  on. 

And  in  the  Edinburgh  Journal  for  1827,  it  is  stated  con- 
cerning squalls  of  wind  and  rain  on  the  western  shore  of 
Africa,  that  for  some  time  every  day,  at  9  o'clock,  A.  M., 
black  clouds  began  to  appear  on  the  mountains,  and  gen- 
erally reached  the  shore  about  two  P.  M.,  while  all  the  time 
a  gentle  wind  at  sea  was  blowing  towards  the  cloud. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  at  present  to  enter  into  all  the  details 
of  the  theory;  but  there  is  one  point,  on  which  the  truth 
of  the  theory  manifestly  depends,  which  requires  a  very 
particular  notice  :  and  that  is,  does  the  wind  blow  towards 
the  centre  of  a  rain  in  the  lower  part  of  the  cloud  ?  The 
following  facts  I  trust  will  answer  this  question  in  a  satis- 
factory manner. 

29.  On  the  llth,  12th,  13th  and  14th  of  May,  1833,  there 
fell  in  the  middle  counties  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 


14  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

some,  four,  and  in  others  five  and  six  inches  of  rain ;  during 
all  this  time  the  wind  at  Philadelphia  was  south  :  at  the 
south  east  corner  of  New  York,  it  was  south  east,  and  in  the 
most  northern  counties,  it  was  three  of  these  days  con- 
stantly north.  At  Philadelphia  and  in  the  south  east  parts 
of  New  York  there  was  no  rain  when  the  wind  was  uni- 
form, but  in  the  most  northern  counties  there  was  some  rain, 
but.  not  so  much  as  in  the  central  parts.  The  rain  extended 
beyond  the  east  and  west  boundaries  of  the  state,  and  there 
the  wind  was  variable ;  prevailing,  however,  in  the  east, 
from  the  east,  and  in  the  west,  from  the  west. 

30.  On  the  29th  of  January,  1835,  while  it  was  raining 
1.47  inches  at  Nashville,  the  wind  was  blowing  at  Philadel- 
phia towards  Nashville,  and  when  this  same  storm  reached 
Philadelphia,  which  it  did  in  twenty-three  hours,  the  wind 
was  blowing  both  at  Nashville  and  at  Flushing,  New  York, 
and  at  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  towards  Philadelphia.     And  in  general,  in  our 
north  east  storms,  the  wind  to  the  north  east  of  them,  and 
also  to  the  south  west  of  them,  blows  towards  the  storm, 
and  if  the  centre  of  the  storm  passes  to  the  north  of  Phila- 
delphia, in  all  cases  that  I  have  been  able  to  trace,  the  wind 
changes  round  by  south,  and  when  the  centre  of  the  storm 
passes  to  the   south  of  us,   the  wind   changes   round  by 
north. 

31.  On  the22d  March,  1835,  from  eleven,  A.  M.,  till  one, 
P.  M.,  it  was  very  calm,  with  a  low  barometer,  but  very 
dark,  with  thick  clouds,  which  appeared  to  be  almost  sta- 
tionary.    The  wind  had  been  north  east  in  the  morning, 
with  a  little  rain;  during  the  hours  in  which  there  was  a 
calm  and  no  rain  at  Philadelphia,  there  was  a  most  violent 
wind  at  York,  Pennsylvania,  towards  Philadelphia,  and 
also  a  very  great  rain ;  the  same  at  Baltimore.     At  Cape 
Hatteras  there  was  wind  towards  Philadelphia,  and  rain  in 
sight  towards  the  north  east.     At  Flushing,  New  York,  the 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  15 

wind  was  towards  Philadelphia,  with  moderate  rain.  The 
same  at  Middletown,  Connecticut ;  Providence,  Rhode 
Island ;  and  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  In  Berks  coun- 
ty, the  rain  was  most  violent,  as  mentioned  by  the  news- 
papers ;  direction  of  the  wind  not  given. 

This  case  corresponds  exactly  with  the  deductions  of 
theory  in  article  24.  This  storm  moved  on  to  the  north 
east,  and  the  barometer  stood  lowest  at  Providence  exactly 
six  hours  after  it  was  lowest  at  Philadelphia.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  wind  had  chopped  round  to  north  west  at  Phila- 
delphia, with  much  rain. 

32.  On  the  19th  of  June,  1835,  about  five,  P.  M.,  there 
took  place  in  New  Jersey  a  most  violent  land-spout.  It 
appeared  to  all  persons,  in  whatever  direction  it  was  viewed, 
in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  cone  of  cloud,  reaching  from  a 
dark  cloud  above,  down  to  the  earth.  It  commenced  about 
seven  miles  west  of  New  Brunswick,  and  terminated  at  Perth 
Amboy,  about  seventeen  miles  from  where  it  began,  having 
travelled  a  little  north  of  east,  with  a  very  moderate  velocity, 
not  exactly  ascertained,  probably  not  more  than  twenty-five 
or  thirty  miles  an  hour.  It  prostrated  every  thing  in  its 
path,  which  was  from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  yards 
wide ;  the  trees  on  the  north  side  being  almost  all  thrown 
with  their  tops  towards  the  south  east,  and  those  on  the 
south  side  with  their  tops  to  the  north  east,  and  none  with 
their  tops  outwards,  as  appears  by  a  chart  exhibited  to  the 
Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  by  Prof.  Bache.  It  unroofed  the  houses  and 
prostrated  their  walls,  many  of  them  outwards,  as  if  by 
explosion,  and  some  light  ones  it  lifted  up  nearly  perpendic- 
ularly to  a  considerable  height,  and  tearing  up  the  floors  of 
some  whose  walls  remained  standing.  It  carried  the  joists 
and  upper  floors  and  rafters,  in  some  instances,  to  a  consid- 
erable height,  and  threw  them  down  on  the  north  side  of  its 
path  four  hundred  yards  from  the  house,  almost  at  right  an- 
gles to  its  course,  and  exactly  opposite  to  the  course  which  the 


16  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

wind  must  have  blown  at  the  ground  in  the  yard,  as  mani- 
fested by  the  direction  in  which  the  trees  were  lying.  It 
carried  off  shingles,  and  hats,  and  books,  and  various  gar- 
ments, and  branches,  and  leaves  of  trees,  and  other  light 
bodies,  and  threw  them  down  on  the  north  side  of  the  spout, 
in  a  band  of  about  four  or  five  miles  broad,  and  terminating 
on  the  north  eastern  side  of  Staten  Island,  about  fifteen  miles 
from  Amboy,  where  the  spout  ceased  to  reach  the  earth,  and 
twenty-five  from  where  it  took  up  the  shingles.  It  threw 
these  materials  down  along  with  a  severe  shower  of  hail 
and  rain.  These  materials  were  seen  to  fall  with  hail  and 
rain  by  a  great  number  of  witnesses  whom  I  examined  dur- 
ing the  week  which  I  spent  investigating  this  spout.  There 
was  no  hail  and  rain,  at  least  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  on  the 
path  of  the  spout ;  it  began  about  a  mile  on  the  north  side 
of  it,  and  became  heavier  a  little  further  still,  and  then 
gradually  diminished  again  as  it  approached  the  northern 
border.  The  hail  was  confined  to  the  middle  of  the  band. 

33.  After  completing  my  examination  of  the  Brunswick 
spout,  I  visited  the  tracks  of  nine  others  in  New  Jersey, 
New  York,  and  Pennsylvania.  They  all  exhibited  the 
same  phenomena  as  regards  the  direction  in  which  the  trees 
were  prostrated,  all  being  inwards  and  forwards.  Two  of 
these  were  of  the  present  year,  and  I  remarked  in  each  of 
them,  where  they  passed  through  fields  of  corn,  that  the 
stalks  lay  with  perfect  regularity  —  those  on  the  north  side 
of  the  path  towards  the  south  east,  and  those  on  south 
side  towards  north  east,  making  nearly  an  exact  right  angle 
with  each  other.  The  only  exception  to  this  uniform  regu- 
larity was,  that  in  the  Brunswick  spout,  three  patches^ 
nearly  circular,  with  diameters  equal  to  the  width  of  the 
spout,  were  found  with  the  tops  of  the  trees  all  thrown  in- 
wards towards  one  common  centre. 

In  the  middle  of  one  of  these  stood  a  large  house,  which 
had  its  roof  carried  off,  and  the  trees  all  round  the  house 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.       17 

had  their  tops  thrown  towards  the  house.  The  walls  of 
the  upper  story,  both  on  the  north  and  south  side,  were 
cracked,  and  in  one  crack  was  thrust  a  lady's  handkerchief, 
and  in  the  other  a  sheet,  which  had  been  taken  up  from  a 
bed  in  the  room,  and  the  cracks  closed  when  they  were 
carried  partly  through. 

These  facts  leave  no  doubt  that  there  is  an  upward  mo- 
tion of  the  air  in  the  spout,  and  an  inward  motion  below. 
And  the  fact  that  the  hail  and  the  shingles  fell  together, 
makes  it  equally  certain  that  this  hail  had  been  formed  from 
drops  of  rain  carried  up  by  the  spout,  above  the  region  of 
congelation,  and  then  thrown  down  along  with  the  shingles 
carried  up  at  the  same  time.  The  wind  had  been  south  west 
all  day,  which,  no  doubt,  was  the  reason  why  all  the  shin- 
gles and  hail  fell  to  the  north  east  of  the  track  of  the  spout. 
There  are  many  other  highly  interesting  particulars  con- 
nected with  these  spouts,  which  will  be  detailed  in  subse- 
quent pages.  I  will  only  add,  that  the  evidence  which  I 
collected  was  conclusive,  that,  at  the  time  of  the  falling  of 
the  hail,  the  wind  on  the  northern  border  of  the  shower 
was  strong  from  the  south,  and  on  the  southern  border 
of  the  shower,  strong  from  the  north.  This  is  a  fact  which 
will  of  itself  explain  why,  in  many  showers,  the  wind  at 
the  surface  of  the  earth  blows  in  all  directions  from  the 
centre  of  the  shower,  and  yet,  a  few  thousand  feet  high,  it 
may  be  blowing  in  the  under  part  of  the  cloud  on  all  sides 
towards  the  middle  of  the  cloud.  This  phenomenon  I  have 
more  than  once  seen.  (See  article  22.) 

34.  Spouts  at  sea  are  manifestly  the  same  in  principle  as 
spouts  on  land.  They  are  always  seen  to  descend  from  a 
a  black  cloud,  sometimes  with  a  velocity  of  half  a  mile  in 
two  seconds.  Now  this  velocity  precludes  the  possibility  of 
this  visible  spout  having  fallen  by  gravity,  for,  in  that  time, 
if  its  specific  gravity  were  ten  thousand  times  greater  than 
it  is,  it  could  not  fall  more  than  sixty-four  feet  in  two  se- 
3 


18  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

conds.  But,  as  the  theory  shows  that  the  condensation  of 
the  vapor  must  commence  above,  and  descend  lower  and 
lower  as  the  column  becomes  lighter  and  lighter,  whilst  all 
the  time  the  individual  particles  of  the  visible  spout  are 
moving  upwards,  so  it  is  manifest  that  the  condensation  of 
the  vapor  may  commence  lower  and  lower  with  great  ra- 
pidity, as  the  air  down  to  the  very  surface  of  the  sea  may  be 
very  rapidly  relieved  of  part  of  the  superincumbent  weight 
by  the  expansion  and  outward  motion  of  the  air  in  the  up- 
per part  of  the  spout. 

35.  The  theory  also  accounts  most  satisfactorily  for  the 
violent  showers  of  hail  and  rain  which  are  known  to  accom- 
pany, or  immediately  succeed  spouts  both  by  sea  and  land. 

36.  It  also  accounts  for  the  sudden  and  great  depression 
of  the  barometer  on  the  passage  of  a  spout.     In  Orkney, 
during  a  spout  which  threw  down  nine  inches  of  hail  in 
eight  minutes,  the  barometer  fell  more  than  one  and  a  half 
inches.    Article  16.    (See  Edin.  Trans.  Anno  1823.) 

37.  It  also  accounts  for  the  great  and  continued  rains  which 
are  known  to  accompany  the  breaking  out   of  volcanoes. 
The  mighty  mass  of  aqueous  vapor  which  is  thrown  out 
sometimes  from  a  volcano,  in  condensing,  will  heat  up  the 
air  by  its  latent  caloric  and  cause  it  to  rise  and  spread  out 
in  all  directions  above.     Then  the  air  will  rush  in  below, 
and  a  violent  upward  motion  will  be  established  first  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of   the  volcano ;  and  unless  the 
dew  point  is  extremely  low,  a  rain  must  be  the  consequence, 
and  as  the  rarefied  air  spreads  outwards  in  all  directions 
above,  the  circumference  of  the  rain  may  become  wider  and 
wider,  receding  from  the  volcano  in  all  directions,  but  faster 
on  that  side  which  has  the  higher  dew  point.     In  the  mean- 
time, the  barometer  on  the  outside  of  the  circle  of  rain  at 
some  distance  will  rise,  and  within  the  circle  of  rain  will 
continue  to  fall ;  and  if  within  the  circle,  six  inches  of  water 
at  a  mean  should  fall,  the  barometer  will  have  fallen  above 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  19 

two  inches,  (article  16),  and  the  air  near  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  at  the  borders  of  the  storm,  would  be  rushing  inwards 
with  a  velocity  of  370  feet  per  second. 

38.  In  the  year  1821,  on  the  19th  of  December,  a  volcano 
broke  out  in  Iceland,  attended  with  just  such  phenomena ; 
a^d   in  five  days  the  rains  reached  the  south  of  Europe, 
and  the  barometer  on  that  day,  which  had  been  gradually 
falling,  stood  all  over  Europe  lower  than  it  had  done  for 
many  years.     (See  the  Phil,  journals  of  1822.)     Thus  that 
mysterious  connection  between  volcanoes  and  rains  which, 
Humboldt  says,  is  even  able  to  change  the  rainy  seasons  in 
South  America,  is  clearly  explained.    Nor  will  such  accounts 
as  the  following  any  more  appear  incredible. 

In  the  mountain  of  Tomboro,  in  the  island  of  Sumbawa, 
eastward  of  Java,  a  most  dreadful  volcanic  eruption  com- 
menced on  the  5th  of  April,  1815,  and  was  most  violent  on 
the  llth  and  12th.  Out  of  a  population  of  twelve  thousand 
persons,  only  twenty-six  escaped  destruction.  Violent  whirl- 
winds swept  away  men,  horses,  cattle,  and  every  thing 
which  came  within  their  vortex,  tore  up  the  largest  trees, 
and  covered  the  neighboring  sea  with  floating  timber, 
which,  from  its  scorched  appearance,  had  evidently  been 
carried  through  the  flames  of  the  volcano. 

39.  In  Scoresby's  Arctic  Regions,  page  404,  vol.  1,   are 
several  facts  which  would  of  themselves  prove  an  upward 
motion  of  the  air  at  the  time  of  a  storm. 

"  About  10  o'clock  the  snow  abated,  and  several  ships  were 
seen  within  three  or  four  miles.  As  all  of  these  ships  were 
sailing  on  the  wind,  it  was  easy  to  ascertain  the  direction  of 
the  wind  where  they  were. 

Two  ships  bearing  north  east  from  us  had  the  wind  N.  E. ; 
two  bearing  east,  at  E.  or  E.  N.  E. ;  two  bearing  south  east, 
had  the  wind  S.  E. ;  while  with  us  it  blew  from  the  north 
west.  In  each  of  these  places,  a  fresh  breeze  prevailed  ;  but 
in  some  situations  where  there  happened  to  be  no  ships, 


20  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

there  appeared  to  be  no  wind  at  all.  The  clouds  above  us 
at  the  time  were  constantly  changing  their  forms,  and 
showers  of  snow  were  seen,  in  various  places,  at  a  dis- 
tance." 

40.  At  another  time,  he  says,  "'While  a  gentle  breeze  from 
the  north  prevailed  with  us,  a  heavy  swell  from  the  S.  S.  E. 
came  on,  and  a  dense  black  cloud  appeared,  in  the  southern 
horizon,  which  rapidly  rose  into  the  zenith,  and  shrouded 
one  half  of  the  heavens.     The  commixture  of  this  dense  air 
with  the  cold  wind  from  the  north,  produced  a  copious  dis- 
charge of  snow.     When  the  snow  ceased,  (though  we  were 
nearly  becalmed)  we  observed  several  ships  a  few  miles  to 
the  south-eastward,  under  close-reefed  topsails,  having  evi- 
dently a  gale  of  wind,  blowing  in  the  direction  of  the  swell. 
In  about  two  hours  the  southern  wind  reached  us,    and  as 
we  stood  to  the  eastward,  gradually  increased  to   a  gale. 
Previous  to  this  storm,  the  barometer  fell  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  in  twelve  hours. 

41.  Now  as  the  wind  in  both  these  storms  blew  in  all  di- 
rections towards  a  particular  point,  it   must  have  blown 
upwards  over  that  point,   and  hence  the  snow  was   not 
permitted  to  fall  at  that  point  where  there  was  nearly  a 
calm,  but  fell  in  "  various  places  at  a  distance."    It  is  equally 
plain  that  a  strong  gale  could  not  blow  in  sight  of  Captain 
Scoresby  two  hours  before  it  reached  him,  without  blowing 
upwards  at  some  point  between  him  and  the  ships   seen 
laboring  in  the  gale. 

42.  A  remarkable  circumstance  which  I  think  can  only 
be  explained  oil  the  supposition  that  the   cloud  mentioned, 
moved  upward,  is  related  on  the  next  page.     He  says :  My 
father  was  engaged  in  admiring,  in  a  particularly  fine  day, 
the  extensive  prospect  from  an  eminence,  on  Charles'  island, 
of  about  two  thousand  feet  high,  when  the  rapid  approach 
of  a  small  cloud  attracted  his  attention.     When  it   reached 
the  place  where  he  was  sitting,  in  a  calm  air,  a  torrent  of 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  21 

wind  assailed  him  with  such  violence,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  throw  himself  on  his  body,  and  stick  his  hands  and  feet 
in  the  snow,  to  prevent  himself  from  being  hurled  over  the 
tremendous  slope  which  threatened  his  instant  destruction. 
The  cloud  having  passed,  the  air  became  calm,  and  he  im- 
mediately descended.  Now  this  is  just  the  effect  which 
would  be  produced  by  a  large  mass  of  air  moving  upwards 
rapidly  by  being  of  less  specific  gravity,  than  the  surround- 
ing air ;  which  is  too  plain  to  need  demonstration. 

43.  Gay-Lussac,  on  entering   a  cloud  with  his  balloon, 
found  his  thermometer  rise  several  degrees  above  what  it 
had  been  in  the  sun's  rays. 

44.  The  Reverend  W.  B.  Clarke  says,  in  the  Magazine  of 
Natural  History,  volume  7,  page  300,  that  Mr.  Kelsall,  who 
was  an  eye  witness  of  the  great  eruption  of  ./Etna,  in  1809, 
writes  thus:  "  At  fifteen  minutes  past  nine,  A.  M.,  April  1st, 
a  quantity  of  dense  smoke  proceeded  from  two  rents,  which, 
raised  to  a  considerable  height  in  the  atmosphere,   before 
serene,  was  dilated,  and  formed  a  black  cloud  above  two  thou- 
sand paces  in  diameter,  which  presently   discharged  a  co- 
pious shower  of  large  hail  stones,  on  the  red  hot  lava." 

In  the  same  page  he  says  that  "  during  the  eruption  of  a 
volcano  in  Iceland,  in  1793,  not  only  did  rain  fall  in  torrents, 
but  also  hail  in  showers." 

45.  Mr.  J.  R.  Jackson,  in  his  Aide-Memoire  Du  Voyageur, 
says,  "  I  have  seen,  in  the  plains  of  Agra,  Hindoostan,  lati- 
tude 27,  enormous  columns  of  sand,  sometimes  thirty  at  a 
time,  several  feet  in  diameter,  rising  perpendicularly  out  of 
sight,  and  followed  frequently  by  a   shower  of  large  hail 
stones,  containing  such  a  quantity  of  sand,  in  large  grains, 
that  in  filling  a  goblet  with  this  hail  when  it  was  melted  there 
was  a  sediment  of  sand  almost  half  an  inch  thick."     From 
these  accounts  it  is  manifest  that  hail  is  sometimes  produced 
by  an  upward  motion  of  a  column    of  air   both   with  and 
without  volcanic  agency  ;  and  it  is  confidently  believed  that 


22  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

no  theory  of  hail  can  stand,  which  does  not  show  how  drops 
of  water  are  first  formed  and  afterwards  frozen. 

46.  Again :  nothing  can  be  more   satisfactory  than  the 
explanation  which  the  theory  affords  of  the  immense  quan- 
tity of  rain  and  hail  which  sometimes  falls,  in  a  very  short 
time  on  a  very  small   extent  of  land.     Nothing  is   wanted 
for  this  purpose,  but  the  stoppage,  for  a  short  time,  of  the 
horizontal  motion  of  the  spout. 

47.  This  may  be  effected  by  a  mountain  or  island  of  the 
proper  height.     If  it  is  very  high,  as  the  Himalayas,  the  rain 
and  snow  will  be  all  on  the  windward  side  ;  if  it  is  barely 
sufficient  to  cause  a  condensation  of  vapor  when   the   air 
blowing  over  it  comes  to  the  top,  the  spout  will  be  so  formed 
as  to  discharge  its  water  on  the  leeward  side,  for  as  it  as- 
cends above  the  point  of  condensation,  it  will  be  pressed  over 
to  the  leeward  side  by  the  prevailing  current  of  air. 

48.  On  the  26th  of  July,  1819,  the  mouth  of  the  Catskill, 
eight  miles  east  of  the  Catskill  mountains,  previous  to  the 
storm,  the  air  was  thick  and  sultry,  clouds  low,  and  wind 
south  west.     About  five  P.  M.  two  very  dense  black  clouds 
were  seen  to  rise  up,  very  rapidly  to  the  zenith,  one  in  the 
north  east,  the  other  in  the  south  west,  and  at  the  same  time 
two  sloops  in  the  North  River  were  seen  approaching  each 
other  under  a  full  press  of  sail.     Immediately  on  the  meet- 
ing of  the  clouds  there  commenced  a  violent  rain  which  did 
not  abate  for  one  hour  and  did  not  entirely  cease  for  three 
hours  and  a  half.     During  this  period  there  fell  at  least 
fifteen  inches  of  rain  over  a  space  of  about  nine  miles  in  di- 
ameter, bordering  on  the  Catskill. 

This  account  is  given,  with  a  great  many  other  particu- 
lars, by  Benjamin  W.  Dwight,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  Silli- 
man's  Journal ;  but  the  direction  of  the  wind,  in  the  borders 
of  the  shower,  is  not  given. 

49.  In  the  Ann.  de  Chem.  et  de  Phys.  for  February,  1835, 
M.  S.  Berthelot  gives  a  very  particular  account  of  a  storm 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  23 

which  ravaged  the  northeast  part,  particularly,  of  Teneriffe, 
on  the  6th  of  November,  1826.  As  in  the  preceding  case 
the  wind  had  been  from  the  southwest  till  the  commencer 
ment  of  the  storm,  when  on  the  east  side  it  began  to  blow 
most  violently  from  the  east,  and  on  the  north  side  most 
violently  from  the  north,  and  continued  in  this  way  for 
more  than  six  hours.  It  does  not  appear  how  it  was  blow- 
ing at  this  time  on  the  south  nor  west  side.  One  observer, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  storm,  saw  the  clouds  all 
round  the  horizon  rapidly  approaching  to  the  zenith.  The 
quantity  of  rain  which  fell  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  island 
must  have  been  immense.  In  some  places  it  fell  in  such 
torrents  as  to  make  excavations  six  hundred  paces  in  cir- 
cumference, and  twenty  or  thirty  feet  deep. 

50.  Was  the  spout  in  these  two  cases  kept  stationary  for 
some  time  by  the  height  to  which  the  southwest  wind,  sur- 
charged with  vapor,   had  to  ascend  in   passing  over  the 
mountains  ? 

51.  The  barometer  in  the  Teneriffe  storm  sunk  suddenly 
two-thirds  of  an  inch,  which  would  give  a  velocity  of  up- 
ward motion  in  the  ascending  column,  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet   per  second.     And  if  the  dew  point  were 
known  at  the  time  of  the  storm,  the  quantity  of  vapor  con~ 
densed  in  a  given  time  could  be  calculated. 

52.  I  hope  that  meteorologists  in  future  will  pay  more 
attention  to  the  dew  point,  and  to  facilitate  their  observa- 
tions 1  will  observe  that  the  dew  point  may  be  obtained 
indirectly  by  the  following  method. 

53.  Take  two  thermometers,  (Fahr.)  which  agree,  or  allow 
for  the  difference;  cover  the  bulb  of  one  of  them  with  a  wet 
rag ;  swing  them  both  briskly  in  the  air  until  they  both  be- 
come stationary  ;  multiply  their  difference  by  103,  and  divide 
the  product  by  the  number  of  degrees  expressing  the  wet 
bulb  temperature ;  subtract  the  quotient  from  the  dry  bulb 
temperature,  and   the  remainder   will   be   the   dew  point. 


24  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

This  law  holds  good  for  a  wet  bulb  as  high  as  75°,  and  as 
low  as  20°,  as  I  have  verified  by  many  hundred  experi- 
ments. Near  the  freezing  point,  however,  great  care  is  ne- 
cessary that  the  water  should  either  be  all  frozen  or  none. 
And  what  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  I  have  frequently  ob- 
served when  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  only  a  little  above 
the  freezing  point,  and  the  dew  point  much  below,  that  two 
thermometers  would  exactly  agree  at  all  temperatures  be- 
tween 32°  and  27°,  one  being  covered  with  ice,  and  the 
other  with  a  wet  rag.  Lower  than  27°  the  wet  rag  would 
always  freeze.  I  may  add  here,  that  it  is  essential  to  swing 
or  blow  the  thermometers,  for  the  wet  and  dry  bulbs  will 
always  indicate  a  greater  difference  when  they  are  blown 
than  when  they  are  in  still  air.  As  these  experiments  are 
both  contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  Leslie,  now  considered 
correct  in  Europe,  I  have  been  at  the  greatest  pains  to  put 
them  to  the  strictest  scrutiny. 

54.  I  have  now  mentioned  only  a  few  of  the  many  facts 
which  I  have  been  able  to  collect  in  favor  of  a  theory 
which  explains,  with  the  simplicity  of  the  law  of  gravita- 
tion, many  phenomena  which  have  heretofore  baffled  all 
attempts  at  explanation,  and  some  which  have  not  ever 
been  attempted.  Enough,  however,  have  been  adduced  to 
establish,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  the  leading  fact 
in  the  theory,  the  upward  motion  of  the-  air  in  the  region 
of  a  cloud  at  the  time  of  its  formation  ;  and  as  the  explana- 
tion of  this  upward  motion  is  founded  on  facts  established 
by  the  most  careful  experiments  made  by  such  men  as 
Black,  Dalton,  Gay-Lussac,  Ure,  Berard  and  Delaroche, 
and  Clement  and  Desormes,  and  Petit  and  Dulong,  the 
theory  may  claim  for  itself  not  merely  plausibility,  but 
absolute  certainty.  When  the  ancients  were  amusing  them- 
selves by  demonstrating  the  properties  of  the  sections  of  the 
cone,  they  little  thought  what  aid  their  investigations  would 
afford  to  the  future  astronomer.  So  the  chemists,  who  dis- 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  25 

covered  the  latent  heat  of  steam  and  the  specific  caloric  of 
atmospheric  air,  could  hardly  be  aware  that  from  their  dis- 
coveries would  soon  arise  a  theory  of  meteorology,  explain- 
ing so  many  atmospheric  phenomena. 

The  substance  of  the  foregoing  pages  was  written  in  the 
autumn  of  1833.  It  will  serve  to  show  how  I  proceeded 
with  my  investigations  at  this  early  period. 

55.  At  the  time  of  writing  this  theory  the  only  point  at 
all  doubtful  was  the  specific  caloric  of  air ;  I  am  happy  to 
have  it  now  (January,  1836,)  in  my  power  to  remove  every 
vestige  of  doubt  on  this  point,  by  two  new  and  entirely  in- 
dependent methods. 

First.  Professor  Apjohn,  of  the  Royal  College  of  Sur- 
geons, Dublin,  has  given  a  formula l  for  calculating  the 
dew  point,  assuming  as  one  of  the  data  the  specific  caloric 
of  air  as  given  by  Delaroche  and  Berard.  I  have  calcu- 
lated a  great  number  of  my  own  observations,  including  a 
range  of  artificial  temperatures  of  the  wet  bulb,  from  94° 
to  20°  Fahr.,  and  I  find  they  give  the  dew  point  within  the 
limits  of  the  errors  of  observation;  below  that  point  they 
begin  to  deviate  rapidly  from  the  true  dew  point;  but  this 
deviation  may  fairly  be  attributed  to  the  tables  of  the  elas- 
ticity of  vapor,  as  given  by  Dalton  and  Biot. 

By  inverting  the  formula  of  Professor  Apjohn,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  and  calculating  the  specific  caloric  of  air  from  rny 
observations  of  temperature  of  air,  wet  bulb,  and  dew  point, 
it  comes  out  almost  exactly  what  it  is  assumed  in  the  essay. 
I  say,  as  I  understand  it ;  for,  as  I  understand  it,  I  make 
the  specific  caloric  of  hydrogen  about  fourteen  times  greater 
than  the  professor  does,  which  must  arise  either  from  my 
misunderstanding  his  formula,  or  from  an  inaccurate  calcu- 
lation on  his  part.  We  agree  in  the  specific  caloric  of 
atmospheric  air.2 

1  Lon.  and  Edin.  Phil.  Mag.  and  Jour,  of  Science,  for  Nov.  1835. 

2  It  appears  since,  that  Professor  Apjohn  had  neglected  to  allow  for  the 
specific  gravity  of  hydrogen. 

4 


26 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


MARCH,  1835. 


.00       . 

? 

c 

w 

*•* 

I. 

%« 

'3 

•s 

i 

j 

I1 

-1 

>.5 

•°  5 

:! 

. 

| 

M 

i 

M 

i 

i|L 

t| 

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|| 

1 

1 

1 

1 

s 

V 

1 

111 

jr 

Q 

o 

I 

1 

8 

10.5 

9.4 

—3 

—1.6 

+6 

+1.4 

+q 

3050 

3 

18.8 

15.5 

—3 

—3 

+4.1 

0. 

+7.1 

30.51 

2 

3 

29.7 

246 

+8.5 

+8 

+13.5 

—0.5 

+5 

30.52 

3 

4 

21.7 

18.2 

0.5 

+1.7 

+7.1 

+12 

+6.4 

30.52 

4 

3 

24.7 

20.4 

2.5 

3.1 

+7.8 

+0.6 

+5.3 

30.74 

5 

3 

30.2 

25 

8 

8.7 

+14.5 

+0.7 

+5.5 

30.67 

12 

3 

46.1 

39.7 

28.9 

29.5 

+0.6 

30.25 

'                                               JUNE,  1835. 

13 

2{ 

86.0 

85.7 

J73.5 

68.7 

C68.7 
>  686 

J69.6 

0 
-0.1 

+0.9 

30.02 

0.231 

15 

3 

70 

59.5 

51.6 

51.7 

51.5 

+0.1 

—0.1 

30.12 

.245 

16 

3 

73 

61.5 

53.7 

53.8 

534 

+0.1 

—0.3 

29.93 

.245 

17 

3 

772 

60 

49.8 

50.5 

49.8 

+0.7 

0 

29.93 

.281 

18 

3 

72.2 

64.6 

57.4 

57.2 

57 

-0.2 

—0.4 

29.90 

.245 

£ 

QO  o 

19 

3( 

o<£  £ 

82 

73.5 

69.7 

70.0 

68.5 

+0.3 

—1.2 

29.63 

.267 

20 

3{ 

70.1 
70.3 

56 

44.5 

43.3 

44 

-0.5 

—1.2 

29.82 

.255 

21 

3 

66 

51.5 

37.5 

37 

36.6 

-0.5 

—0.9 

30.00 

.245 

ARTIFICIAL  TEMPERATURES. 

130 

74 

36 

2 

29.8 

0.252 

138 

77 

35 

!  . 

335 

.267 

177 

87 

35 

34 

.276 

192 

92 

33.5 

™   3 

38.5 

- 

.269 

180 

87 

33.5 

c  2 

29 

.259 

204 

94 

35 

«£. 

39.5 

.283 

153 

82 

35 

11 

38.2 

.2«5 

120 

76 

52 

C.C 

50.2 

.244 

101 

71 

52 

—  .zf 
02  — 

52.1 

.261 

101 

71 

52 

^* 

52.1 

.261 

108 

68 

35 

1 

35 

.272 

57.  The  above  table  is  taken  from  my  journal  of  the 
weather  kept  in  Philadelphia,  for  some  of  the  coldest  and 
warmest  weather  in  the  year.  And,  besides,  some  artificial 
temperatures  are  used,  in  which  the  thermometers  were  put 
into  a  hot  stream  of  air,  ascending  through  an  opening  in 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  27 

the  floor  from  a  stove  below.  These  last  were  made  in 
Professor  W.  R.  Johnson's  parlor,  and  confirm  the  accuracy 
of  this  manner  of  finding  the  specific  caloric  of  air  so  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  on  the  subject.  The  mean  of  all  the  experi- 
ments is  0.259.  The  table  is  not  without  interest,  also,  as 
a  specimen  of  the  hygrometric  state  of  the  air  in  our  climate. 
The  reader  will  perceive  that  these  tables  of  dew  points 
and  wet  bulbs  were  made  previous  to  Professor  Apjohn's 
formula  reaching  this  country,  so  they  could  not  have  been 
got  up  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  a  theory. 

58.  The  formula  I  have  used  in  calculating  the  specific 

caloric  of  air  is  a—w~™'e,  a  being  the  specific  caloric  of  air, 

w  and  w'  the  respective  weights  of  vapor  in  the  atmosphere 
when  saturated  at  the  temperatures  of  wet  bulb  and  dew 
point,  and  d  the  difference  of  the  temperatures  of  air  and 
wet  bulb  when  in  a  brisk  current  of  air,  the  weight  of 
atmospheric  air  being  taken  at  unity,  when  under  mean 
pressure,  for  I  have  not  found  that  changes  in  the  barometer 
affect  the  question,  though  I  instituted  a  very  extensive  se- 
ries of  observations  with  that  view.  And  e  is  the  latent 
caloric  of  vapor  at  the  wet  bulb  temperature,  which  I  have 
assumed  equal  to  the  difference  of  the  wet  bulb  and  1212°. 

59.  Second.     I  instituted  a  series  of  experiments  to  ascer- 
tain, independent  of  chemical  laws,   whether  air  is  more 
expanded  by  the  evolution  of  latent  caloric  when  a  portion 
of  its  vapor  is  condensed  into  water  than  it  is  contracted  by 
that  condensation.     The  result,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  table 
below,  is  abundantly  confirmatory  of  the  theory. 

I  took  a  copper  vessel  containing  about  a  gallon,  furnish- 
ed with  a  stop-cock,  and  bent  tube  mercurial  gage.  I 
transferred  this  vessel  with  the  stop-cock  closed  from  one 
temperature  to  another,  and  carefully  waited  till  the  gage 
became  stationary.  I  then  measured  the  height  that  the 
mercury  stood  in  one  leg  above  that  in  the  other ;  the  stop- 


28  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

cock  was  then  opened  and  closed  as  soon  as  possible  after 
the  mercury  came  to  a  level  in  the  two  legs ;  the  mercury 
in  the  gage  would  then  instantly  begin  to  change  its  level, 
and  in  a  short  time  become  stationary  again  ;  the  difference 
of  level  was  then  measured,  and  the  whole  recorded  in  the 
table  under  article  64. 

60.  This  was  done  both  with  dry  air,  and  with  air  sat- 
urated with  moisture,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  differ- 
ence of  temperature  caused  by  the  condensation  of  the 
vapor. 

This  difference  of  temperature  would  be  indicated  by  the 
difference  of  rise  of  the  barometer  gage  from  that  which 
took  place  in  dry  air — allowance  being  made  both  for  the 
quantity  of  vapor  discharged  and  condensed  at  the  moment 
of  turning  the  stop-cock  and  letting  the  air  in  the  urn  ex- 
pand ;  for  it  is  manifest  that  this  same  quantity  would  be 
again  evaporated  when  the  air  became  heated  to  its  original 
temperature.  Now,  it  will  be  seen,  that  when  dry  air  was 
used,  the  cooling  due  to  expansion  was  about  one  degree 
for  every  four  and  fifteen  hundredths  that  the  air  had  been 
heated :  but  when  moist  air  was  used  at  the  temperature  of 
about  seventy-five,  the  cooling  effect  of  the  expansion  was 
only  one  degree  in  six,  and  •£$  even  without  allowing  any 
thing  for  the  rise  of  the  gage  by  the  vapor,  and  as  this  is 
more  than  one  third  of  the  whole  at  the  temperature  em- 
ployed, the  real  depression  of  temperature  in  this  case  is 
only  about  four  ninths  of  that  in  dry  air. 

At  the  temperature  of  about  100°,  which  was  tried  though 
not  recorded,  the  result  was  equally  striking  and  confirma- 
tory of  the  principle.  Here  the  rise  of  the  gage  after  open- 
ing and  shutting,  was  about  one  in  five  of  the  original 
height,  though  one  half  of  this  effect  is  due  to  the  vapor, 
as  will  be  seen  by  examining  a  table  of  dew  points,  (129)  ; 
and,  therefore,  at  this  temperature,  the  cooling  effect  of  the 
expansion  of  moist  air  when  compared  to  that  of  dry,  is 
about  as  four  to  ten. 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  29 

61.  A  similar  effect  will  be  observed,  by  examining  the 
result  when  the  urn  was  carried  from  a  warm  to  a  cold 
place. 

A  much  greater  effect  was  produced  in  this  latter  case 
than  in  the  former,  when  moist  air  was  used,  which  can, 
only  be  accounted  for,  on  supposition  that  there  is  a  great 
expansion  of  air  containing  vapor,  when  a  portion  of  that 
vapor  is  condensed  into  water. 

62.  This  point  being  now  established,  independently  of 
all  previous  experiments  on  the  specific  caloric  of  atmos- 
phereic  air  and  the  caloric  of  elasticity  in  steam,  it  adds  a 
high  degree  of  probability,  a  priori  to  the  dynamic  theory 
of  atmospheric  depositions  given  above. 

63.  I  do  not  pretend  to  draw  from  these  experiments,  the 
specific  caloric  of  air,  though  I  may  perhaps  attempt  this 
by  a  more  careful  set  of  similar  experiments  at  some  future 
time. 

64.  The  minus  pressures,   or  where  the  apparatus  was 
transferred  from  a  warm  to  a  cold  medium,  are  very  im- 
portant, indeed  quite  decisive  in  a  comparative  point  of 
view.     For  if  the  instantaneous  heating  and  cooling  effect 
of  the  vessel  on  the  included  air  at  the  moment  of  opening 
the  cock  should  be  so  considerable  as  to  hinder  us  from 
drawing  any  certain  conclusions  as  to  the  exact  number  of 
degrees  air  is  heated  by  a  given  condensation,  or  cooled  by 
a  given  expansion,   still,   as  these  experiments  were  per- 
formed with  the  same  instrument  arid  in  the  same  manner, 
the  comparative  results  must  be  correctly  obtained. 

It  is  proper  to  mention,  that  to  insure  saturation,  a  small 
quantity  of  water  was  put  into  the  urn,  in  the  case  of  moist 
air. 


30 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


AIR   SATURATED   WITH   MOISTURE. 


PLUS    PRESSURES. 

MINUS    PRESSURES. 

£    • 

£.= 

.SjJK 

!§» 

2 

£  • 

£  = 

=  §» 

Is  . 

2 

mperatu 
i  closing 

P 

C     '"§ 

Sj»- 

I'f'j 

o 

II 

mperatu 
re  openi 

£  S,= 

«.£"" 

IJ! 

3 
** 

ior~l 

£° 

If 

5IS 

5  ° 

1 

£  = 

:"S 

5J~ 

5  ° 

03 

M 

31 

76 

9 

1.5 

1  :6 

76 

40 

9.60 

1.70 

1  :  5.64 

9.5 

1.25 

1  :  7.68 

80 

38A 

10.4 

25 

:4.16 

38A 

79 

10.5 

1.75 

1:6 

79 

38 

9.5 

2.5 

:3.8 

38 

79 

9.5 

1.50 

:6.36 

79 

36 

8.5 

21 

:40 

36 

84 

13 

2.05 

:6.34 

85 

36 

11 

2.65 

:4.15 

36 

73 

6.5 

0.9 

:7 

73 

12.00 

1.60 

:7.5 

32 

15.66 

3.50 

:4.7 

81J 

5.50 

1.00 

:5.5 

70.5 

20.5 

7 

1.7 

:4.3 

23 

80 

16.33 

240 

:6.8 

81 

23 

11.00 

2.25 

:4.4 

23 

86 

17.00 

2.60 

:6.9 

80 

23 

12.5 

2.9 

:43 

23 

23 

3.6 

-.6.4 

86 

23.4 

13.2 

2.7 

:4.8 

76 

19.75 

3.00 

:5.9 

23 

16.5 

37 

:4.4 

70 

11.30 

2.20 

.  5  ] 

77 

13.60 

3.00 

:4.5 

41.2 

78 

1233 

1.70 

:'  7.2 

70 

41.2 

900 

2.20 

•  4  1 

41 

81 

1275 

1.90 

:6.4 

78 

41 

11.75 

275 

U.2 

40 

81 

12.10 

1.80 

:6.7 

81 

40 

11.50 

2.7 

:4.3 

66 

5.9 

1.00 

:5.9 

mean 

1  :  4.39 

#6 

13.8 

2.3 

:6.0 

mean 

:  6.4 

URN   DRIED  AND    AIR   IN    IT    AT   DEW    POINT   16.° 

83 

12.20 

3.25 

1  :  3.75 

83.0 

27 

12.30 

2.80 

1  :  4.4 

27 

82 

13.00 

340 

:3.83 

82 

25 

1266 

3.10 

1:40 

25 

76 

13.10 

2,80 

:4.68 

76 

23 

11.30 

2.60 

1:4.3 

23 

80 

13.60 

325 

:4.32 

AIR   DRIED    WITH    CHLORIDE    OF    CALCIUM. 

37 

75 

7.25  i 

1.70 

:  4.2d 

37 

12.25 

260 

1  :  4.70 

72 

9.40 

2.30 

:  4.08 

75 

2J 

10.33 

2.33 

1:4.44 

81 

6.70 

1.40 

3.94 

20 

83 

15.75 

3.70 

:4.25 

83 

18 

14.70 

3.00 

1:4.90 

18 

84 

1590 

3.80 

:4.18 

84 

15.5 

15.00 

3.50 

1  :  4.27 

15A 

24.75 

6.10 

:4.10 

13 

22.25 

4.80 

]  :  4.63 

13 

76 

14.60  ' 

3.30 

:4.42 

76 

12 

12.75 

2.80 

1:4.55 

9 

2.10 

:4.29 

12.60 

2.90 

:434 

mean 

:  4.15 

mean 

1  :  4.46 

65.  The  grand  object  then  for  which  these  experiments 
were  instituted,  is  established  beyond  doubt  —  that  the  latent 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.        31 

caloric  of  vapor,  causes  the  air  to  occupy  much  more  space 
when  it  is  imparted  to  the  air,  than  when  it  is  united  with 
water  in  the  form  of  vapor. 

66.  But  as  it  is  very  desirable  to  know  the  exact  amount 
of  this  expansion  of  air  by  the  latent  caloric  of  vapor,  and 
also  how  much  vapor  at  a  particular  dew  point  is  condensed 
by  ascending  into  the  air  a  given  height ;  and  also  how 
high  air  of  a  given  dew  point  will  ascend  before  it  forms  a 
cloud,  let  us  see  what  information  our  experiments  give  us 
on  these  interesting  points. 

Now  it  appears  from  the  experiments  on  dry  air,  that  on 
opening  the  cock,  and  letting  the  air  expand  into  equilibrium, 
it  was  cooled  nearly  one  fourth  the  number  of  degrees  to 
which  it  had  been  heated  after  the  cock  had  been  closed. 
And  this  law  appears  to  be  observed  at  all  the  different 
temperatures. 

It  appears,  therefore,  at  least  for  small  elevations,  that 
when  air  ascends,  it  becomes  colder  about  l£°  for  every  one 
hundred  yards :  and  it  will  also  be  found  by  calculation, 
that  the  dew  point  falls  about  one  quarter  of  a  degree  on 
account  of  the  greater  space  occupied  by  the  air  and  vapor 
for  every  hundred  yards  of  ascent ;  and  from  these  elements 
it  follows,  that  when  air  ascends  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth  on  account  of  greater  heat  or  greater  moisture  than 
surrounding  columns  of  air,  it  will  begin  to  form  cloud 
when  it  rises  about  as  many  times  one  hundred  yards  as 
the  temperature  of  the  air  is  above  the  dew  point  in  degrees 
of  Fah. 

The  method  of  obtaining  this  result  will  be  understood 
by  the  following  example  :  suppose  the  temperature  of  the 
air  to  be  70°  and  the  dew  point  60°  —  suppose  that  a  portion 
of  air  at  the  earth's  surface  should  rise  ten  hundred  yards, 
it  appears  by  experiments,  that  it  would  sink  in  tempera- 
ture, from  the  expansion  due  to  diminished  pressure,  12j° — 
and  as  the  barometer  would  at  this  height  fall  three  inches 


32  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

or  one  tenth  of  the  whole,  and  consequently  the  air  which 
ascended  would  have  expanded  into  nearly  one  tenth  greater 
space,  and,  therefore,  each  cubic  foot  of  it  would  contain 
nearly  one  tenth  less  vapor.  Now,  by  examining  a  table  of 
dew  points  (129),  it  appears,  that  the  elasticity  of  vapor  at  60° 
Fah.  is  .524  inches,  and  one  tenth  of  this  subtracted  from 
it,  leaves  .472,  which  corresponds  to  a  dew  point  of  57°. 
This  is  the  point  to  which  it  would  be  reduced,  if  it  suf- 
fered no  reduction  of  temperature  by  expansion. 

But  as  by  the  experiments  it  would  be  cooled  about 
12£°,  and  contracted  on  this  account  about  ^  of  its  whole 
volume,  therefore  a  correction  of  the  above  estimate  must 
be  made  by  adding  £$  of  472  to  472  =  484,  which  corres- 
ponds to  a  temperature  of  57§  ° ;  and  this  is  the  actual  dew 
point  of  air  having  ascended  from  the  surface  of  the  earth 
one  thousand  yards,  having  had  a  dew  point  of  60°  previous 
to  its  ascent. 

Now  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  in  this  case  would  fall 
about  12J  °  in  rising  one  thousand  yards,  it  appears  from 
this  calculation,  that  the  temperature  and  dew  point  would 
at  this  height  almost  coincide,  and  upon  a  farther  ascent 
and  diminution  of  temperature,  a  cloud  would  begin  to 
form. 

67.  By  a  similar  calculation  for  other  dew  points,  I  find 
that  the  bottom  of  all  cumulus  clouds  at  the  moment  of  being- 
formed,  is  about  one  hundred  yards  high  for  every  degree  of 
difference  of  the  temperature  of  the  air>  and  the  dew  point  at 
the  time  of  formation. 

This  rule  requires  a  small  correction  when  the  air  is  very 
dry,  arising  in  extreme  cases  to  about  one  hundred  and  five 
yards  for  one  degree. 

68.  This  rule,  however,  applies  only  to  the  base  of  clouds 
before  they  have  acquired  very  considerable  perpendicular 
diameter.     For  as  a  cloud  goes  on  increasing  in  height  at 
the  top,  the  base  descends,  in  consequence  of  the  levity  of 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS.  33 

the  cloud,  and  the  expansion  of  the  air  under  the  cloud, 
but  the  exact  amount  of  this  descent  for  a  given  cloud,  can- 
not, at  present,  be  calculated,  because  it  is  not  known  ex- 
actly what  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  is  at  very 
great  heights,  and,  therefore,  the  comparative  specific  gravity 
of  the  cloud  and  of  the  surrounding  air,  cannot  be  precisely 
estimated.  It  will,  however,  be  near  four  hundred  yards 
for  a  fall  of  the  barometer  one  inch,  and  eight  hundred 
yards  for  a  fall  of  two  inches  under  the  cloud. 

I  would  not  wish  to  be  understood  here  as  saying  by  im- 
plication, that  the  numbers  used  in  this  paper  are  strictly 
correct.  These  numbers  are  introduced  chiefly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  illustrating  the  theory.  Yet  as  they  are  all  within 
the  range  of  nature  and  generally  near  approximations  to 
the  truth,  they  may  be  assumed  as  true,  until  future  inves- 
tigations shall  furnish  strictly  accurate  results. 

JUNE  10,  1841. 

I  have,  at  various  times  since  the  experiments  recorded 
above  were  made,  performed  a  much  more  extended  series 
of  similar  experiments,  with  a  similar  urn  or  vessel  of  glass, 
in  which  the  cloud  could  be  seen  when  moist  air  was 
used. 

To  enable  me  to  use  higher  pressures  and  greater  relative 
rarefications  on  opening  the  stop  cock,  I  had  a  condensing 
pump  attached  to  the  vessel,  by  means  of  which  I  could 
force  in  air  to  any  desirable  amount.  After  this  was  done, 
I  let  the  instrument  stand  till  the  air  within  was  the  same 
in  temperature  as  the  air  without.  I  then  measured  how- 
much  higher  the  mercury  stood  on  the  outer  leg  of  the  gage 
than  on  the  inner.  This  gave  me  the  degree  of  condensa- 
tion. I  then  opened  the  stop  cock,  and  let  the  air  fly  out, 
and  at  the  moment  of  equilibrium  of  pressure  within  and 
without,  I  closed  the  cock,  holding  fast  the  air  within,  at 
the  moment  of  its  greatest  cold  produced  by  the  expansion. 


34  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

In  short,' I  performed  experiments  with  the  instrument  thus 
modified,  both  on  dry  air  in  which  no  cloud  could  be  form- 
ed, arid  in  air  saturated  with  vapor,  in  which  a  dense  cloud 
was  formed,  and  the  results  for  small  expansions,  do  not 
vary  materially  from  those  given  above.  The  instrument, 
thus  modified,  I  have  named  a  nephelescope,  or  cloud- 
examiner. 

It  was  soon  discovered,  however,  on  using  high  degrees 
of  condensation,  that  the  ratio  of  cold  produced  by  the  ex- 
pansion of  air  from  diminished  pressure,  was  a  decreasing 
one,  as  the  quantity  of  air  pumped  into  the  nephelescope 
was  increased. 

What  the  exact  ratio  of  this  decrease  is,  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  say ;  probably  as  the  square  root  of  the  density  of 
the  air  previous  to  expansion.  It  is  very  desirable  to  know 
this  law;  and  perhaps,  by  a  careful  set  of  experiments, 
performed  with  the  nephelescope  on  dry  air,  it  may  be 
discovered. 

I  have  given  below  a  few  experiments  at  different  densi- 
ties. The  measures  are  all  in  quarter  inches  and  tenths  of 
quarters. 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS. 


35 


DRY  AIR. 

MOIST  AIR. 

1 

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30.10 

64* 

8.45 

2.05 

4.01 

30.04 

89° 

40.4 

52 

30.10 

70 

8.90 

2.15 

4.14 

30.04 

89 

40.1 

5.05 

30.22 

64 

9.30 

2.25 

4.13 

30.04 

87.2 

40.25 

5.2 

30.12 

70 

9.00 

2.20 

4.09 

3004 

87.2 

40.25 

5.2 

30.22 

64 

38.8 

860 

4.49 

30.04 

89.2 

16.1 

2.25 

30.16 

70 

42.5 

9.15 

4.62 

3004 

89. 

16.1 

2.25 

29.98 

58 

37.4 

8.25 

4.53 

30.04 

89. 

24.1 

3.25 

30.00 

64 

40.0 

8.60 

4.58 

29.75 

73 

71.9 

14.1 

5.10 

29.75 

73 

72.5 

14.2 

5.10 

ARTIFICIAL    TEMPERATURE. 

29.71 

76 

75.6 

14.5 

5.21 

29.75 

72 

88.2 

17. 

5.19 

29.99 

102 

24.2 

3.5 

29.75 

71 

98.2 

18.5 

5.3 

29.99 

1(3 

24.3 

3.4 

29.65 

75 

100.9 

18.8 

5.38 

29.99 

104 

239 

3.3 

29.70 

71 

99.25 

18.15 

5.49 

29.99 

105 

24  .4 

3.4 

29.70 

75 

101.4 

19.00 

534 

29.61 

76 

86.0 

16.7 

5.15 

30.04 

89. 

90.5 

10.8 

29.85 

75 

82-0 

15.55 

5.27 

30. 

88.7 

90.5 

10.7 

29.82 

76 

91.3 

11.25 

30.05 

64 

22 

5.15 

4.27 

29.81 

48 

64.8 

9.6 

30.02 

64 

22 

5.10 

4.31 

29.81 

49 

65.4 

9.75 

30.01 

64 

22.3 

5.3 

4.20 

29.71 

76 

101.7 

12.7 

30.01 

63.7 

22 

5.15 

4.23 

29.70 

75 

101.0 

12.5 

3000 

45 

21.6 

4.95 

4.36 

29.65 

71 

101.6 

12.9 

29.97 

46 

21.75 

5.20 

4.18 

On  comparing  together  the  experiments  made  on  dry  air, 
there  appeared  but  little  discrepancy,  but  this  was  not  so 
with  moist  air ;  and  I  was  induced  to  institute  a  set  of  ex- 
periments, to  see  whether  length  of  time  in  performing  the 
experiment  had  any  influence  on  the  result.  I  therefore 
performed  a  great  number  of  experiments,  similar  in  all  re- 
spects except  the  length  of  time  which  intervened  between 


36  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  time  of  pumping  air  into  the  nephelescope  and  of  letting 
it  out,  and  to  my  astonishment  I  found,  the  rise  of  the  mer- 
cury after  the  discharge,  constantly  greater,  as  the  time  was 
longer  —  up  to  about  twelve  or  fifteen  days ;  but  beyond 
that  time  the  effect  did  not  seem  to  be  increased.  It  follows 
from  these  experiments,  that  when  air,  saturated  with  va- 
por, is  confined  in  a  glass  vessel,  air  tight,  and  containing  a 
small  portion  of  water,  it  will  cease  to  be  saturated  to  the 
amount  of  about  4  or  5  degrees  in  fifteen  days. 

Whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  this  remarkable  fact,  so 
contrary  to  all  our  notions  since  the  experiments  of  Dalton 
on  the  subject  of  the  dew  point,  the  following  table  of  ex- 
periments proves  beyond  all  doubt  that  it  is  a  fact. 

Does  water  or  glass  so  attract  the  particles  of  aqueous 
vapor  in  contact  with  them,  as  to  condense  some  of  these 
particles  on  them,  and  bring  down  the  dew  point  4  or  5 
degrees  below  the  temperature  of  the  water,  and  the  air  in- 
cluded in  the  vessel?  The  fact  that  air  near  the  surface  of 
the  ocean  has  generally  a  dew  point  several  degrees  below 
the  temperature  of  the  water,  would  seem  to  lead  to  an 
affirmative  answer  to  this  question,  more  especially  as  it  is 
now  known,  that  aqueous  vapor  does  not  permeate  the  pores 
of  atmospheric  air,  and  cannot  rise  into  the  upper  regions  of 
the  air,  in  any  way  except  by  the  motion  of  the  air  itself. 


THEORY  DEDUCED  FROM  PHYSICAL  LAWS. 


37 


MOIST  AIR. 


O 

g 

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—  *55 

1  a 

11 

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a 

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£ 

S 

h 

a 

76 

30.24 

5.9 

41. 

1^  hours 

February. 

10 

76 

30.24 

1.15 

5.9 

10  minutes 

•< 

10 

74 

30.00 

8.9 

41.5 

20  hours 

«' 

11 

76 

30.09 

2.4 

10. 

4  days 

«< 

15 

70 

3006 

2.3 

10.3 

28  hours 

it 

16 

76 

30.18 

1.7 

7.7 

3  days 

March. 

16 

75 

30.23 

1.9 

8.25 

34  days 

« 

20 

74 

29.85 

5.2 

23.50 

4  days 

« 

29 

74 

2985 

3.2 

23.60 

1  hour 

it 

29 

76 

29.80 

3.45 

24. 

3  hours 

« 

29 

77 

29.74 

32 

237 

3  hours 

<( 

29 

75 

30.17 

5.4 

23.2 

5  days 

April. 

3 

75 

30  17 

35 

241 

3  hours 

« 

3 

76 

29.81 

5.6 

25.5 

5  days 

« 

8 

76 

29.81 

3.25 

253 

10  minutes 

i 

8 

71 

30.06 

5. 

222 

30  hours 

i 

10 

70 

30.03 

3. 

21.8 

3  hours 

i 

10 

70 

29.96 

5.8 

257 

25  days 

i 

27 

70 

29.96 

35 

25.9 

1   hour 

i 

27 

70 

29.81 

2.1 

11.5 

18  hours 

i 

28 

72 

30.13 

8.75 

65.9 

7  days 

May. 

6 

72 

30.13 

1.6 

8.75 

15  minutes 

a 

6 

72 

29.83 

2.7 

11.40 

9  days 

ii 

15 

72 

29.83 

1.75 

1220 

6  hours 

tt 

16 

68 

29.90 

4.0 

17.70 

3  days 

it 

25 

SECTION   SECOND. 


THEORY   CONFIRMED  BY  AN  EXHIBITION  OF   ITS  POWER  IN  EXPLAIN- 
ING  PHENOMENA. 

69.  POUILLET  has  given  an  account  of  a  hail  storm  which 
extended  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the  Baltic,  on  the  13th  of  July, 
1788,  in  two  bands,  parallel  to  each  other,  about  fifteen  miles 
apart,  in  which  space  there  was  a  great  rain.  The  eastern 
band  was,  at  a  mean,  about  six  or  seven  miles  broad,  and  the 
western  band  about  twelve  miles.  The  rain,  however,  was 
on  the  outside  of  these  bands  of  hail,  as  well  as  between 
them.  The  progress  of  the  storm  from  the  south  west  to 
the  north  east  was  about  fifty  miles  per  hour,  and  the  hail 
continued  to  fall  not  more  than  eight  minutes  at  any  one 
place,  yet  the  devastation  was  immense,  the  largest  of  the 
hailstones  being  about  eight  ounces. 

If  I  had  made  this  storm  myself,  it  would  be  said  that 
I  had  made  it  to  illustrate  my  theory.  For  it  is  mani- 
fest that  the  outspreading  of  the  air  above,  will,  in  many 
cases,  carry  with  it  the  hailstones,  and  those  which  are 
least  the  farthest,  and  these  smaller  hailstones,  on  the 
outside  of  the  bands,  will  melt  before  they  reach  the  earth, 
while  the  larger  hailstones,  falling  more  swiftly,  and  having 
more  ice  to  melt,  may  reach  the  earth  in  the  form  of  hail. 
Thus  the  two  veins  of  hail,  and  the  rain  on  the  outside  of 
them,  are  manifestly  accounted  for ;  it  is  not  quite  so  plain 
why  it  should  only  rain  in  the  middle.  Nevertheless,  if 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  39 

we  consider  that  the  vortex  moved  with  a  velocity  of  fifty 
miles  an  hour  from  the  south  west  to  the  north  east,  we  will 
readily  perceive  that,  as  it  would  require  perhaps  twenty  or 
thirty  minutes  for  the  drops  of  rain  to  be  carried  up  to  their 
greatest  elevation,  and  to  fall  down  to  the  earth,  during 
which  time  the  up-moving  column  would  move  forward 
twenty  or  twenty-five  miles,  neither  hail  nor  rain  could  ap- 
pear in  front  of  the  vortex,  and  as  it  could  not  fall  in  the 
middle  of  the  spout,  being  prevented  by  the  force  of  the 
ascending  air,  whatever  fell  between  the  two  bands  of  hail 
must  have  descended  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  ascending 
column,  where  it  would  not  be  likely  to  descend,  on  account 
of  its  upper  part  leaning  forwards. 

70.  The  correctness  of  this  explanation  acquires  addi- 
tional probability  from  the  fact  that,  in  hail  storms,  the  hail 
almost  always  precedes  the  rain,  as  appears  from  the  facts 
collected  by  Pouillet.  After  mentioning  the  facts  connected 
with  this  remarkable  storm,  this  highly  enlightened  philoso- 
pher says  :  "  In  explaining  the  meteor  hail,  there  are  but 
two  difficulties;  but  these  are  great,  and  we  may  say,  in 
advance,  they  remain  above  all  the  efforts  which  have  been 
made  to  resolve  them. 

"  First.  To  explain  how  the  cold  is  produced  which  con- 
geals the  water,  and  then  to  show  how  a  hailstone  which 
has  acquired  sufficient  volume  to  fall  by  its  own  weight, 
remains  yet  suspended  in  the  air  during  all  the  time  neces- 
sary to  acquire  a  volume  fourteen  or  fifteen  inches  in  cir- 
cumference." 

These  two  difficulties  have  already  been  fully  explained. 
But  the  power  of  the  theory  does  not  stop  here.  It  explains 
all  the  showers  of  dust,  and  rains  of  blood,  (which  are  only 
water  holding  clay  in  solution)  of  which  we  have  a  great 
many  well  authenticated  accounts.  For,  when  the  vortex 
reaches  down  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  it  is  able  to  carry 
up  large  quantities  of  earth,  as  will  appear  from  the  follow- 


40  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

ing  extract:  "On  the  6th  of  July,  1822,  at  thirty-five  min- 
utes past  one  o'clock,  P.  M.,  in  the  plain  of  Ossonville,  six 
leagues  W.  S.  W.  of  St.  Omer,  and  six  leagues  south  east 
of  Boulogne,  clouds  were  seen  coming  from  different  direc- 
tions, and  uniting  together  rapidly  over  the  plain;  they 
soon  formed  but  one,  which  covered  the  horizon.  An  in- 
stant after,  they  saw  descend  from  this  cloud  a  thick  vapor, 
having  the  bluish  color  of  sulphur  in  combustion;  it  formed 
an  inverted  cone,  whose  base  was  in  the  cloud.  After  it 
passed  from  that  place,  it  was  discovered  that  it  had  made 
an  excavation  in  the  earth,  in  the  form  of  a  basin,  twenty 
or  twenty-five  feet  in  circumference,  and  three  or  four  feet 
deep  in  the  middle.  After  tearing  down  a  barn,  and  some 
trees,  it  passed  on,  a  distance  of  two  leagues,  without  touch- 
ing the  earth,  carrying  with  it  large  branches  of  trees, 
which  it  threw  out  to  the  right  and  left  with  much  noise. 
Having  then  arrived  at  an  elevated  wood,  it  tore  off  the 
tops  of  many  oaks,  and  carried  them  over  the  village  of 
Vendome,  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  forest.  In  this  commune,  it  tore  up  by  the  roots  a  large 
sycamore,  and  carried  it  six  hundred  yards.  The  meteor, 
during  its  whole  course,  was  like  a  bullet,  which  strikes 
the  earth,  and  rebounds,  tearing  up  the  earth  in  places,  and 
from  time  to  time  throwing  out  from  its  centre  globes  of  fire, 
and  globes  of  sulphurous  vapors,  and  branches  of  trees.  In 
the  village  of  Witcanestre,  of  forty  houses,  thirty-two  were 
prostrated,  with  their  walls  all  thrown  outwards,  and  at 
Lambre,  eighteen,  chiefly  built  of  bricks,  were  sapped  to 
their  foundations  in  the  same  extraordinary  manner." 
Nothing  is  said  of  either  hail  or  rain  accompanying  this 
meteor. 

Another  spout,  almost  exactly  similar  to  this  in  violence, 
took  place  near  Treves,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  of 
June,  1829.  Suddenly,  from  the  middle  of  a  black  cloud, 
about  20°  above  the  horizon,  a  luminous  mass  began  to 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  41 

move  in  an  opposite  direction,  and  to  tear  it  open  violently. 
The  cloud  near  the  top  very  soon  took  the  form  of  a  chim- 
ney, from  which  escaped  a  smoke  of  whitish  gray,  mingled, 
at  intervals,  with  jets  of  flame,  and  rising  through  several 
openings,  with  as  much  force  (so  several  witnesses  express 
themselves)  as  if  it  had  been  driven  with  great  force  by 
several  bellows.  It  had  not  gone  far,  when  a  new  meteor, 
as  some  thought,  appeared  in  contact  with  the  ground, 
nearly  under  the  other,  though  a  little  behind,  and  producing 
great  destruction. 

One  man,  who  was  prostrated  by  the  spout,  affirms  that 
there  were  two  currents,  in  contrary  directions.  The  path 
of  the  meteor  was  from  ten  to  eighteen  yards  wide,  as 
marked  on  the  earth,  and  about  twenty-one  hundred  yards 
long.  It  lasted  about  eighteen  minutes,  and,  as  seen  at  the 
distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  it  had  the  form  of  a  serpent, 
of  a  hundred  and  forty  feet  long,  with  its  head  towards  the 
N.  N.  E.,  and  its  tail  opposite.  It  disappeared  suddenly, 
and  without  explosion,  and,  almost  immediately  afterwards, 
hailstones  of  extraordinary  size  fell  in  the  woods,  to  the 
N.  N.  W.  of  the  place  where  the  spout  had  passed.  The 
sun  did  not  appear  during  this  whole  time,  and  there  was 
not  a  breath  of  air ;  at  least,  so  several  of  the  spectators 
affirm. 

The  various  phenomena  accompanying  these  two  spouts 
seem  to  me  to  favor,  in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  the  fact 
of  upward  motion  ;  especially  the  manner  in  which  the 
houses  were  prostrated  by  the  first.  Indeed,  this  latter  phe- 
nomenon appears  to  me  to  be  an  experimentum  crucis,  —  to 
prove  that  a  lighter  column  of  air  was  suddenly  brought 
over  the  houses,  thus  prostrated ;  and  by  thus  diminishing 
the  pressure  on  the  outside  of  the  house,  the  elasticity  of 
the  air  within  produced  an  explosion,  prostrating  the  walls 
outwards,  and  carrying  off  the  roof. 

An  upward  force  which  could  carry  off  a  large  sycamore 
6 


42  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

many  hundred  yards,  must  have  been  quite  adequate  to 
produce  this  effect,  if  it  could  be  brought  to  act  instantaneous- 
ly, or  even  very  suddenly,  which,  in  the  present  case,  the 
whole  description  of  the  phenomena  induces  me  to  believe 
was  the  fact.  Now,  the  diminution  of  the  weight  of  the 
column  of  air  under  a  cloud  of  great  perpendicular  diame- 
ter, when  the  dew  point  is  very  high,  may  be  shown  to  be 
so  great  that  the  barometer  under  that  cloud  would  fall  as 
much  as  it  is  known  to  do  in  the  midst  of  great  storms,  and 
if  it  falls  only  one  inch  in  a  water-spout  or  tornado,  the 
air  would  spout  up  with  a  velocity  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  feet  a  second,  and,  on  coming  over  a  house  suddenly, 
the  pressure  on  the  outside  would  be  diminished  half  a 
pound  to  the  square  inch,  and  the  air  within  would  thus  be 
able  to  explode  any  ordinary  wall. 

Windows,  also,  have  been  known  to  have  been  burst  open 
outwards  in  this  country,  by  a  violent  and  narrow  storm, 
attended  with  hail,  even  when  the  houses  were  not  thrown 
down;  but  as  this  might  sometimes  occur  when  an  open 
door  might  be  directed  to  a  horizontal  current,  it  is  not  ad- 
duced here  as  proof  positive  that  this  effect  was  produced 
by  an  upward  vortex.  Nevertheless,  as  the  same  spout 
which  burst  out  windows,  also  lifted  up,  and  carried  to 
a  great  distance,  heavy  materials,  these  facts  may  well  be 
adduced  as  favorable  to  the  theory.  In  one  case,  however, 
which  may  be  considered  very  strong  in  favor  of  the  theory, 
the  roof  was  taken  off  from  a  barn,  and  the  grain  in  the  in- 
side carried  out  at  the  top,  without  the  walls  being  thrown 
down. 

In  the  eighty-eighth  volume  of  the  Journal  de  Physique, 
page  274,  is  an  account  of  a  great  many  spouts,  both  by 
sea  and  land.  One  of  these,  in  the  south  of  France,  un- 
roofed eighty  houses,  dispersed  through  the  country  the 
sheaves  of  corn  which  it  carried  out  of  a  barn,  broke  the 
doors  and  windows  of  a  chateau,  and  tore  up  the  pavement 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  43 

in  the  middle  of  a  room,  without  .deranging  some  piles  of 
china  ware  in  it. 

71.  No  one  can  doubt  that  the  hail  which  fell  almost  im- 
mediately after  the  passage  of  the  spout,  was  connected 
in  some  way  with  the  spout  itself.     The  manner  of  its  con- 
nexion is  fully  explained  by  the  theory.     And  even  the  per- 
fect calm  which  reigned  a  short  distance  beyond  the  borders 
of  the  spout,  which,  in  this  instance,  was  very  narrow,  may 
easily  be  imagined  from  the  outspreading  of  the  air  above, 
causing  an  increased  pressure  on  the  barometer,  and  thus 
preventing  the  air,  beyond  a  certain  distance,  from  moving 
towards  the  spout  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  beyond  this 
point  even  causing  it  to  move  in  an  opposite  direction. 

72.  The  direction,  also,  in  which  the  latter  spout  leaned, 
may  also  be  accounted  for  on  supposition  that  the  upper 
part  of  it  reached  the  current  of  air  which,  in  higher  regions 
of  the  atmosphere,  is  always  moving  from  the  south  west 
to  the  north  east ;  for,  as  soon  as  it  reached  that  current,  its 
upper  part  would  be  blown  in  that  direction,  and  the  spout 
itself  would  have  to  move  in  that  direction  with  it.     More- 
over, the  spout  would  be  stationary,  if  it  was  formed  in  still 
air,  until  its  upper  part  should  reach  this  upper  current, 
which  might  be  twenty  or  thirty  seconds,  and  this  will  ac- 
count for  the  excavation  of  the  earth  under  the  place  where 
the  spout  was  seen  to  be  formed. 

73.  Again,  the  theory  will  account  for  the  rebounding  of 
the  spout  —  that  is,  of  its  sometimes  reaching  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  sometimes  not.     For,  where  the  dew  point 
was  very  near  the  temperature  of  the  air,  there  a  very  slight 
rarefaction  of  air  would  produce  cold  enough  to  cause  a  con- 
densation of  the  vapor,  and  so  the  vortex,  with  its  condensed 
vapor,  would  be  seen  to  reach  the  earth,  and  vice  versa, 
where  the  dew  point  should  be  many  degrees  below  the 
temperature  of  the  air. 

On  the  principles  established  in  the  first  section,  (22),  the 


44  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

spout,  which  is  nothing  but  visible  condensed  vapor,  may 
sometimes  not  reach  entirely  down  to  the  surface  of  the  earth 
or  sea,  when  the  dew  point  is  too  low  for  such  an  effect ;  in 
this  case,  it  will  appear  as  an  inverted  cone,  reaching  down 
from  a  cloud  already  formed. 

It  may  here  be  observed,  that  a  spout  will  always  begin 
to  be  formed  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  because  the  vapor  will  always  begin  to  con- 
dense there,  from  a  law  too  well  understood  by  meteorolo- 
gists to  need  elucidation  here.  When,  however,  it  begins 
to  condense,  it  begins,  also,  by  its  diminished  specific  gravity, 
to  rise,  and  then,  if  all  circumstances  are  favorable,  the 
cloud  will  increase  as  it  ascends,  and  finally  become  of  so 
great  perpendicular  depth,  that,  by  its  less  specific  gravity, 
the  air  below  it,  and  contiguous  to  it,  in  consequence  of  di- 
minished pressure,  will  so  expand,  and  cool  by  expansion, 
as  to  condense  the  vapor  in  it ;  and  then  the  air  below  this 
again,  will,  in  its  turn,  experience  a  greater  and  greater  ex- 
pansion and  refrigeration,  and,  consequently,  condensation 
of  vapor  j  and  this  process  may  go  on  so  rapidly,  that  the 
visible  cone  may  appear  to  descend  to  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
or  earth,  from  the  place  where  it  first  appears,  in  about  one 
or  two  seconds. 

The  terms  here  employed  must  not  be  understood  to  mean 
that  the  vapor,  or  cloud,  actually  descends;  it  appears,  to 
the  spectator,  to  descend,  but  this  is  an  optical  deception, 
arising  from  new  portions  of  invisible  vapor  constantly  be- 
coming condensed,  while,  all  the  time,  the  individual  par- 
ticles are  in  rapid  motion  upwards. 

74.  For  the  sake  of  illustrating  the  principle,  without 
aiming  at  absolute  numerical  accuracy,  let  us  suppose  a  dew 
point  ten  degrees  below  the  temperature  of  the  air.  Now, 
a  diminished  pressure  of  one  pound  to  the  square  inch,  will 
cause  a  fall  of  temperature  of  about  seven  and  half  degrees,  so 
that,  in  this  case,  the  visible  cone  would  not  reach  down  to  the 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  45 

surface  of  the  earth,  or  sea,  and  the  air  would  have  to  ascend 
a  little  more  than  three  hundred  yards,  before  condensation 
would  commence.  I  say  more  than  three  hundred,  because, 
though  the  temperature  sinks  one  degree  for  every  hundred 
yards  of  elevation,  the  dew  point  also  sinks  a  little  from  the 
expansion  of  the  air,  and  the  same  quantity  of  vapor  occu- 
pying a  larger  space.  But,  if  the  dew  point  in  the  above 
case  had  been  only  six  degrees  below  the  temperature  of  the 
air,  then  the  spout,  or  visible  cone  of  vapor,  would  have 
reached  the  earth. 

Now,  it  is  highly  probable  that  a  spout,  in  passing  over 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  would  meet  with  slight  variations 
in  the  dew  point,  and,  if  so,  it  would  rise  as  the  dew  point 
fell,  and  fall  as  the  dew  point  rose ;  and  thus  the  theoretical 
deductions  correspond  exactly  with  the  facts. 

75.  Again,  the  direction  of  the  two  spouts,  as  also  of  the 
great  storm  with  two  veins  of  hail,  mentioned  before,  was 
from  the  south  west  to  the  north  east;  and  Pouillet  says, 
that  a  large  majority  of  these  storms  are  known  to  move  in 
this  direction.  I  presume  he  means  those  which  occur  in 
France.  Now,  it  is  manifest  that  these  storms,  according  to 
the  theory,  must  move  in  the  direction  of  the  upper  current 
into  which  they  may  ascend,  for  the  top  of  the  vortex  will 
lean  in  that  direction ;  and  as  theory  demonstrates,  and 
observation  agrees  with  that  demonstration,  that  the  upper- 
most current  of  air  in  the  temperate  zone  moves  constantly 
from  the  south  of  west,  towards  the  north  of  east,  this  will 
satisfactorily  account  for  the  general  tendency  of  these 
storms  in  that  direction,  all  over  the  northern  temperate 
zone,  or,  at  least  above  lat.  30°.  For,  from  that  latitude, 
down  to  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  the  uppermost  current  of 
air  moves  nearly  towards  the  north,  and,  within  the  tropic, 
it  moves  towards  the  north  west;  and  so  the  theory 
would  lead  us  to  presume  that,  in  these  regions,  the 
storms  will  be  found  to  move  in  these  directions.  Such 


46  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

is  shown  to  be  the  fact  by  Mr.  Redfield,  as  to  all  great  storms 
which  travel  any  considerable  distance  in  the  West  Indies, 
And  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  Lathrop'sAbridg- 
ment,  volume  2,  page  107,  it  is  said  that  hurricanes  in  the 
West  Indies  begin  from  the  north  west,  and  terminate  with 
a  south  east  wind. 

76.  It  is  quite  reasonable  to  suppose  that  these  spouts 
sometimes  meet  with  a  middle  current,  moving  in  a  differ- 
ent direction  from  the  uppermost,  which  will  account  for 
the  exceptions  to  the  general  rule ;  for  the  spouts  will,  in 
such  case,  certainly  lean,  and,  of  course,  move  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  middle  current. 

77.  These  three  storms  all  occurred  in  the  day,  and  two 
of  them  in  the  afternoon;  and  M.  Pouillet  says  that  many 
more  occur  in  the  day  than  in  the  night.    Now,  this  is  pre- 
cisely what  the  theory  would  lead  us  to  suppose,  and  the 
explanation  of  this  fact  affords  me  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
plaining the  very  commencement   of  those   spouts   which 
occur  during  the  day.     The  sun,  during  the  day,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  afternoon,  heats  up  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
the  air  in  contact  with  that  surface,  many  degrees  above  the 
air,  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  earth.     This  heated  air 
below,  and  cold  air  above,  will  form  an  unstable  equili- 
brium, and  a  very  slight  agitation  will  cause  to  be  formed 
upward  vortices  of  the  light  air  below.     Now,  if  the  dew 
point  is  not  more  than  ten  degrees  below  the  temperature  of 
the  air  in  contact  with  the  soil,  the  air  of  the  upward  vortex 
will  not  ascend  much  above  one  thousand  yards,  before  the 
refrigeration,"caused  by  expansion,  will  cause  a  beginning  of 
condensation  of  vapor;  and  the  moment  this   occurs,  the 
velocity  of  upward  motion  is  rapidly  increased,  from  the 
expanding  effect  caused  by  the  evolution  of  latent  caloric, 
as  before  explained. 

If  the  dew  point  of  the  air  at  this  elevation  should  be  al- 
most identical  with  its  temperature,  the  cloud  of  the  upward 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  47 

vortex  will  go  on  increasing  in  size  and  perpendicular  height, 
until  the  air  immediately  below  it,  being  pressed  downwards 
with  less  and  less  weight  as  the  cloud  above  increases  in 
height  and  levity,  will,  by  expanding  more  than  the  air 
which  preceded  it  in  the  vortex,  be  cooled  down  to  the  point 
of  deposition,  before  it  reaches  the  elevation  of  one  thousand 
yards.  And  if,  in  this  case,  the  column  should  rise  to  a 
height  sufficient  to  produce  a  diminution  of  pressure  under 
it  of  one  pound  to  the  square  inch,  the  cone  of  visible  vapor, 
or  cloud,  will  reach  down  to  a  point  four  hundred  yards 
from  the  earth's  surface.  And,  in  general,  the  nearer  the 
dew  point  is  to  the  temperature  of  the  air,  the  lower  will 
the  visible  spout  descend  ;  so  that,  if  they  had  been  assumed 
only  six  degrees  apart,  in  the  above  case,  the  apex  of  the 
spout  would  have  descended  to  the  earth.  And,  if  they  had 
been  assumed  still  nearer  together,  the  spout  would  not  only 
have  descended  to  the  earth,  but  it  would  have  been  of  some 
considerable  size  there.  Thus  we  find  that  this  mode  of 
calculation  not  only  enables  us  to  account  for  the  more  fre- 
quent appearance  of  these  spouts  in  the  day  than  in  the 
night,  but  also  to  assign  a  reasonable,  hypothetical  cause, 
why  these  spouts,  or  storms,  are  sometimes  broad,  and  some- 
times narrow,  and  sometimes  even  do  not  reach  down  to  the 
surface  of  the  earth. 

78.  It  is  known,  also,  that  spouts,  and  violent  storms,  are 
always  preceded  by  calms.  The  fact,  also,  is  easily  ex- 
plained by  the  theory.  For,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  known 
that  a  calm  favors  the  production  of  a  high  dew  point,  which 
is  an  essential  ingredient  in  these  storms ;  and,  second,  a 
vortex  of  great  strength  cannot  be  formed,  unless  it  can  rise 
nearly  perpendicular  to  a  great  elevation,  which  never  can 
happen  where  there  is  a  strong  wind.  This  will  readily  be 
admitted,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  wind  is  always 
stronger  at  some  distance  above  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
than  at  the  surface  itself;  and,  therefore,  no  vortex  of  any 


48  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

great  height,  in  these  circumstances,  could  be  formed,  for 
the  upper  part  would  be  blown  away  from  the  lower. 

79.  I  have  frequently  seen  those  large  columnar  clouds, 
which  form  in  mid  air  during  a  warm  summer's  day,  have 
their  tops  blown  off  by  an  upper  current,  when  the  lower 
air  was  almost  still,  and  thus  a  vortex  of  great  strength 
prevented  from  forming.  That  these  clouds  are  actually 
formed  by  rising  vortices,  occasioned  by  the  disturbance  of 
the  equilibrium  of  the  air  during  the  day,  is  rendered  almost 
certain  by  the  following  facts.  First.  When  the  supply  is 
cut  off  in  the  evening,  by  the  air  near  the  surface  of  the 
earth  becoming  cold,  these  clouds  cease  to  form,  and  not 
unfrequently  disappear,  and  a  day  with  many  clouds  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  cloudless  night.  On  the  supposition  of  upward 
vortices,  this  phenomenon  is  very  simple  and  natural ;  but 
on  any  other  supposition,  it  is  utterly  paradoxical,  (especially 
when  it  is  now  known  that  depression  of  temperature  is  the 
only  cause  of  the  condensation  of  aqueous  vapor,)  how  clouds 
can  be  formed  under  a  meridian  sun,  which  will  be  dissi- 
pated under  the  refrigerating  influences  of  a  nocturnal  sky. 

Second.  I  once  saw,  during  a  profound  calm,  those  co- 
lumnar clouds,  in  all  parts  of  the  heavens,  appear  to  be  coming 
slowly  towards  me,  which  I  think  can  only  be  accounted 
for  by  supposing  that  they  were  all  rising  perpendicularly. 
These  clouds,  however,  were  gradually  dissipated  after  they 
had  increased  to  a  considerable  size,  which  proves  beyond 
doubt  that  they  were  surrounded  by  air,  at  that  elevation, 
whose  dew  point  was  below  the  temperature  of  the  air  ;  and 
it  may  be  added,  that  this  is  one  of  the  cases  where  a  spout 
cannot  be  formed,  for  the  ascending  air  of  the  vortex  will 
always,  more  or  less,  be  mingled  with  the  air  through  which 
it  passes. 

Again,  nothing  but  an  upward  or  a  downward  vortex  will 
account  for  the  well  known  fact,  that,  in  these  storms,  the 
clouds  are  frequently  seen  to  rush  together  with  great  rapid- 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  49 

ity,  for  some  time,  without  overlapping  each  other,  and 
crossing,  which  proves  that  they  are  on  the  same  horizontal 
plane,  and  so  demonstrates  the  existence  of  a  vortex.  I  need 
hardly  add,  that  other  phenomena  show  that  the  motion,  af- 
ter meeting,  is  upwards,  and  not  downwards. 

80.  Clouds  have  also  frequently  been  seen  to  ascend,  by 
spectators  on  mountains,  and  aeronauts  have  found  their 
temperature  much  higher  than  the  surrounding  air.     Thus, 
it  is  demonstrated,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  there  is  an  upward 
current  in  these  storms,  whether  the  latent  caloric  given  out 
by  the  condensation  of  the  vapor,  is  the  cause  of  that  cur- 
rent, or  not.     And,  as  no  fact  in  physics  is  better  established 
than  that  precipitation  will  instantly  take  place,  if  saturated 
air  is  suddenly  rarefied,  we  are  sure,  also,  that  this  upward 
motion  of  saturated  air  will,  by  causing  expansion,  produce 
precipitation. 

81.  I  had  long  been  desirous  to  ascertain,  by  actual  obser- 
vation, how  high  these  vortices  carry  the  condensed  vapor, 
or  cloud,  into  the  upper  air,  and  a  fine  opportunity  was  af- 
forded me,  on  the  31st  of  July,  1834.     This  morning,  says 
my  journal  of  that  day,  "it  began  to  rain  early,  with  the 
wind  and  lower  clouds  north  east,  middle  clouds  south,  and 
upper  clouds  west."     Several  showers  occurred  during  the 
morning,  and  the  wind  gradually  shifted  round  to  the  south 
east.     About  five  o'clock,  P.  M.,  a  most  violent   shower, 
which  lasted  about  fifteen  minutes,  came  up  from  the  north 
west,  and  at  the  moment  of  the  hardest  rain,  the  lower  wind 
being  strong  from  the  north  west,  the  lowest  visible  clouds 
in  a  south  east  direction,  were  seen  to  move  with  great  velo- 
city in  the  opposite  direction,  towards  the  north  west. 

As  soon,  however,  as  the  shower  passed  off  to  the  south 
east,  the  lower  clouds  changed  their  course,  and  followed 
the  shower  towards  the  south  east,  exposing  to  view,  near 
the  zenith,  a  most  magnificent  columnar  cloud,  with  its  sum- 
mit and  western  side  as  white  as  snow,  being  exposed  to  a 

7 


50  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

western  sun,  in  a  perfectly  clear  sky.  This  cloud  seemed 
nearly  stationary  for  some  time  in  its  upper  snowy  part, 
while  the  scattering  clouds  in  its  lower  parts  were  seen  to 
rush  under  it,  towards  the  south  east,  with  great  velocity. 
The  principal  cloud  moved  slowly  and  majestically  towards 
the  E.  S.  E. ;  the  sun's  rays  gradually  climbing  up  this 
mountain  of  snow,  fourteen  minutes  after  he  set,  his  last 
beams  ceased  to  illuminate  its  summit. 

The  altitude  of  this  summit  being  taken  by  a  sextant,  was 
found  to  be  nine  and  a  half  degrees.  The  line  which  bound- 
ed light  and  darkness  as  it  rose  up  the  sides  of  this  columnar 
cloud,  was  well  defined,  the  western  horizon  being  entirely 
free  from  clouds,  so  that  I  think  I  could  not  be  mistaken  one 
quarter  of  a  minute  in  the  time  when  the  sun's  rays  ceased 
to  shine  on  the  top  of  the  cloud.  Calculating  from  these 
data,  I  find  the  cloud  reached  to  the  amazing  height  of  ten 
miles,  and  that  it  travelled  E.  S.  E.  with  a  velocity  of  about 
forty-five  miles  an  hour." 

A  much  more  violent  storm  than  this  had  occurred  at 
Wilmington,  (Del.)  about  twenty-eight  miles  southwest  of 
Philadelphia,  two  days  before  this,  as  appears  from  Dr. 
Gibbon's  Journal.  He  says  it  commenced  raining  with  a 
thunder  gust,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  poured 
down  in  torrents  till  half  past  seven,  when  it  ceased.  In 
this  short  time,  two  and  half  hours,  five  and  one-tenth 
inches  of  water  fell.  This  rain,  he  says,  did  not  extend 
further  than  ten  or  fifteen  miles  from  Wilmington,  in  any 
direction,  except,  perhaps,  in  an  easterly  course,  in  New 
Jersey. 

On  that  evening,  my  journal  says,  "  The  upper  clouds 
from  the  W.  S.  W.  were  tinged  with  pink,  thirty-one 
minutes  after  seven  o'clock,  mean  time."  These  clouds,  be- 
ing in  the  zenith,  must  have  been  the  astonishing  height  of 
fourteen  miles,  if  no  allowance  is  made  for  the  refraction  of 
light. 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  51 

The  angular  velocity  of  one  of  these  upper  clouds  was 
taken;  it  was  found  to  rise  from  25°  to  32°,  m  two  and  a 
half  minutes.  Its  absolute  velocity,  therefore,  at  this  great 
height,  was  nearly  two  miles  a  minute.  This  great  velocity 
is  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  the  velocity  with  which 
storms  are  known  generally  to  travel  towards  the  north  east, 
in  our  latitude,  even  on  supposition  that  this  direction  is 
given  to  the  upward  vortices  of  these  storms,  by  this  upper- 
most current,  as  explained  before;  for  the  inertia  of  the  air 
in  the  vortices  must  be  overcome,  and.  therefore,  the  velo- 
city of  the  storm,  at  least  the  hinder  part  of  it,  cannot  be  so 
great  as  the  velocity  of  this  uppermost  current. 

82.  There  are  many  well  authenticated  accounts  of 
showers  of  dust,  and  bloody,  or,  as  I  imagine,  reddish  rain, 
having  fallen,  and  also  of  hail,  with  earthy  or  stony  matter 
contained  in  the  stones,  and  some  with  green  leaves  of 
forest  trees ;  all  these  facts  are  mere  corollaries  from  the 
theory.  Professor  Zimmerman  analyzed  the  sediment  of 
some  red  rain  which  fell  on  the  3d  of  May,  1821,  near 
Geisseri,  and  found  it  to  contain  chrome,  oxide  of  iron,  silex, 
lime,  carbon,  and  a  trace  of  magnesia,  but  no  nickel.  On 
the  13th  of  August,  1824,  in  the  city  of  Mendoza,  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  dust  fell  from  a  black  cloud,  and  at  the  same  time, 
in  another  place,  distant  forty  leagues,  the  same  phenomenon 
occurred. 

In  Persia,  near  Mount  Ararat,  there  fell,  in  the  month  of 
April,  1827,  a  shower  of  seeds,  which,  in  some  places, 
covered  the  earth  to  the  depth  of  six  inches.  The  sheep 
ate  of  it,  and  men  made  a  tolerable  bread  of  it.  The  French 
ambassador  in  Russia  obtained  some  specimens  of  this  grain, 
and  sent  them  to  Paris,  where  they  were  analyzed  and  ex- 
amined by  MM.  Desfontaines  and  Thenard,  and  determined 
to  be  lichens  of  the  genus  Lecidea. 

Now,  as  neither  leaves  of  forest  trees,  nor  seeds  of  lichens, 
can  grow  in  the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  or  be  pre- 


52  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS.  ' 

cipitated  to  the  earth  from  any  other  planet,  if  these  ac- 
counts are  believed,  and  M.  Pouillet  doubts  not  the  truth  of 
them,  then  the  existence  of  upward  vortices,  however  these 
vortices  may  be  formed,  is  established.  —  (Pouillet,  page 
770.)1 

83.  The  theory  will  also  account  for  the  water  spout. 
Indeed,  a  spout  at  sea,  and  a  spout  on  land,  are  identically 
the  same  thing,  and  many  have  been  known  to  pass  from 
water  to  land,  exhibiting  the  same  appearance  in  both  situa- 
tions. To  show  their  identity,  I  will  copy  from  Silliman's 

1  See  Records  of  Gen.  Sci.  vol.  4,  page  157,  for  an  account  of  a  shower 
of  frogs,  three  or  four  layers  deep,  which  fell  near  Toulouse,  described  by 
Professor  Pontus.  See  also  Athenaeum,  for  October,  1840,  for  the  following 
account,  communicated  to  the  British  Association. 

Colonel  Sykes  communicated  the  contents  of  a  leter  from  India,  from  captain 
Aston,  one  of  the  diplomatic  agents  of  the  government  of  Bombay ,  in  Kattywar, 
on  the  subject  of  a  recent  singular  shower  of  grain.  He  stated  that  full  sixty 
or  seventy  years  ago,  a  fall  offish,  during  a  storm  in  the  Madras  Presidency, 
had  occurred.  The  fact  is  recorded  by  Major  Harriott,  in  his  "  Struggles 
through  Life,'  as  having  taken  place  while  the  troops  were  on  the  line  of 
march,  and  some  of  the  fish  having  fallen  upon  the  hats  of  the  European 
troops,  they  were  collected  and  made  into  a  curry  for  the  general.  This  fact 
for  probably  fifty  years  was  looked  upon  as  a  traveller's  tale,  but,  within  the 
last  ten  years  so  many  instances  have  been  witnessed  and  publicly  attested, 
that  the  singular  anomaly  is  no  longer  doubted.  The  matter  to  which  he  had 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  section,  was  not  to  a  fall  of  fish,  but  to  an  equally 
remarkable  circumstance,  a  shower  of  grain.  This  took  place  on  the  24th  of 
March,  1840,  at  Rajket,  in  Kattywar,  during  one  of -those  thunder  storms,  to 
which  that  month  is  subject ;  and  it  was  found  that  the  grain  had  not  only 
fallen  upon  the  town,  but  upon  a  considerable  extent  of  country  and  round  the 
town.  Captain  Aston  collected  a  quantity  of  the  seed,  and  transmitted  it  to 
Colonel  Sykes.  The  natives  flocked  to  Captain  Aston,  to  ask  for  his  opinion 
of  this  phenomenon;  for  not  only  did  the  heavens  raining  grain  upon  them 
excite  terror,  but  the  omen  was  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  the  seed  was  not 
one  of  the  cultivated  grains  of  the  country,  but  was  entirely  unknown  to 
them.  The  genus  and  species  was  not  immediately  recognizable  by  some 
botanists  of  the  Section  D  ,  to  whom  it  was  shown,  but  it  was  thought  to  be 
either  a  spartium  or  a  vicia.  A  similar  force  to  that  which  elevates  fish  into 
the  air,  no  doubt  operated  on  this  occasion,  and  this  new  fact  corroborates 
the  phenomena,  the  effects  of  which  had  been  previously  witnessed. 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  53 

Journal,  volume  14,  page  171,  an  account  of  a  water  spout 
seen  off  the  coast  of  Florida,  in  the  spring  of  1826,  by  Ben- 
jamin Lincoln,  M.  D.,  of  Boston. 

"  April  5th.  At  six  o'clock,  A.  M.,  an  order  was  heard 
from  the  deck  to  get  ready  the  gun  on  the  weather  quarter, 
and  bring  the  muskets  from  the  cabin.  Recollecting  what 
region  we  were  in,  my  first,  thought  was  of  an  engagement 
with  a  piratical  cruiser,  but  on  going  upon  deck,  it  appeared 
that  our  enemy  was  a  water  spout,  bearing  north,  distant, 
according  to  the  captain's  estimation,  about  two  miles,  and 
coming  down  upon  us  before  a  wholesail  breeze.  One  mus- 
ket was  fired  at  it,  but  it  had  nearly  effected  a  retreat  be- 
fore we  got  ready  for  action.  I  had  just  time  to  see  it,  and 
it  disappeared. 

"  In  a  few  minutes  another  appeared,  which  was  said  by 
the  officers  of  the  vessel  to  be  much  more  distinct  than  any 
one  they  had  ever  seen  before.  I  observed  it  attentively, 
but  neglected  to  note  the  time,  except  at  its  commencement, 
and  the  end  of  the  third  spout,  which  appeared  after  the 
second  and  principal  one  had  passed  away.  This  omission 
renders  it  impossible  to  give  the  duration  of  its  different 
stages  with  any  good  degree  of  exactness.  The  wind  came 
from  the  land,  blowing  a  wholesail  breeze.  The  ther- 
mometer stood  at  72°.  A  black  cloud,  from  which  the 
spout  proceeded,  extended  along  from  east  to  west,  its  lower 
edge  very  distinctly  defined,  even,  parallel  to  the  surface  of 
the  water,  and  elevated  25°  or  30°  above  the  horizon.  No 
other  cloud  was  visible  in  that  quarter,  but  a  haziness 
covered  the  whole  heavens. 

"  A  small,  black,  and  perfectly  defined  cone,  darted  from 
the  lower  edge  of  the  cloud,  and  pointed  perpendicularly 
to  the  water,  which,  at  the  same  moment,  was  seen  flying 
upwards  like  spray  on  the  rocks.  It  was  distinctly  no- 
ticed that  the  cloud  grew  blacker  near  the  cone,  appearing 
to  be  gathered  in  from  all  quarters,  and  condensed  at  this 
point. 


54  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

"After  the  lapse  of  two  or  three  minutes,  the  cone  in- 
stantaneously extended  itself  to  about  twice  its  first  length, 
and  the  water  was  thrown  up  higher.  This  continued  a 
few  minutes :  then  the  apex  of  the  cone  suddenly  leaving 
the  truncated  end  jagged,  from  which  little  cirri  were 
continually  darting  and  disappearing,  the  water  continuing 
as  before.  This  appearance  lasted  two  or  three  minutes, 
after  which  the  cone  gradually  elongated  itself,  assumed 
the  cylindrical  shape,  except  near  its  junction  with  the  rest 
of  the  cloud,  and  descended  almost  to  the  surface  of  the 
water.  The  time  occupied  by  the  descent  was  about  two 
seconds.  All  these  changes  were  instantaneous,  except  the 
descent,  which  was  gradual.  As  the  spout  descended,  the 
agitation  of  the  water  increased,  boiling  up  on  each  side  of 
the  end  of  the  spout,  but  not  coming  in  contact  with  it. 
The  spout  was  slightly  curved,  the  convexity  of -the  curve 
being  towards  the  point  whence  the  wind  came.  It  ap- 
peared to  be  hollow,  light  in  the  middle,  and  black,  like  the 
cloud,  at  its  sides.  A  waving,  ascending  motion,  was  dis- 
tinctly seen  in  the  middle,  more  distinctly  near  the  water 
than  near  the  cloud.  This  the  sailors,  with  one  accord, 
pronounced  to  be  water  going  up  the  spout. 

"  This  appearance  lasted  fifteen  minutes,  or  more,  the 
spout  remaining  entire  and  unchanged.  Then  it  began  to 
fade,  and  suddenly  a  section  from  its  lower  end  disappeared, 
leaving  the  same  cirrous  jagged  extremity  before  mention- 
ed. One  section  after  another  disappeared  in  this  way,  the 
spout  continuing  to  grow  paler,  the  waving  motion  growing 
more  distinct  and  slow,  and  the  agitation  of  the  water  sub- 
siding, till  the  whole  disappeared.  By  this  time,  the  wind 
had  freshened  considerably,  and  the  cloud  had  spread  over 
a  great  part  of  the  heavens.  In  a  few  minutes  after,  another 
cone  appeared,  exactly  like  the  first  in  all  respects,  and  the 
same  appearance  was  exhibited  in  the  water  under  it.  This 
continued  a  short  time,  and  then  disappeared. 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  55 

"  From  the  appearance  of  the  first  cone,  till  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  last,  was  three  quarters  of  an  hour. 

"  The  wind  continued  to  increase,  and  the  cloud  to  gather 
in  blackness,  and  spread  in  every  direction,  till  it  envel- 
oped the  whole  heavens.  Next  came  a  most  vivid  flash  of 
lightning,  with  a  most  tremendous  peal  of  thunder.  It 
seemed  as  if  heaven  and  earth  had  exploded  at  once,  and 
in  an  instant  all  was  calm,  the  sails  hung  loose,  and  not  a 
breath  of  wind  could  be  felt.  Rain  now  began  to  fall,  not 
in  drops,  but  in  torrents,  and  the  wind  came  in  gusts  from 
every  point  of  the  compass.  It  continued  to  rain  and  blow 
in  this  way  about  fifteen  minutes,  after  which  it  ceased,  the 
wind  in  its  former  direction,  the  sky  became  clear,  and  we 
went  on  our  way." 

If  any  one  will  carefully  examine  the  phenomena  here 
described,  and  compare  them  with  the  two  land  spouts  de- 
scribed above,  he  will  perceive  their  exact  similarity  in  all 
the  most  important  features, — the  gathering  in  of  the 
clouds  at  the  upper  end  of  the  spout,  where  it  lost  itself  in 
the  cloud;  the  inverted  cone  of  thick  vapor  descending; 
the  commotion  of  the  water,  and  the  removal  of  the  earth 
under  the  spout,  and,  above  all,  the  rain  that  occurred  after 
the  termination  of  the  spout. 

It  is  worthy,  also,  of  particular  remark,  that  the  rain 
lasted  exactly  the  same  length  of  time  that  the  principal 
spout  lasted,  fifteen  minutes,  and  probably  it  commenced 
thirty  minutes  after  the  spout,  or  fifteen  minutes  after  its 
disappearance.  And  as  this  rain  and  the  spout  were  un- 
doubtedly parts  of  the  same  phenomenon,  and  if,  according 
to  the  theory,  the  rain  was  condensed  in  the  spout,  and  car- 
ried up  by  the  spout,  we  are  led  to  believe  it  must  have 
been  carried  up  a  great  distance,  or  it  would  not  have  taken 
thirty  minutes  to  ascend  and  descend.  It  is  true,  that,  in 
ascending,  it  would  move  upwards  much  slower  than  the 
vortex  of  air  which  carried  it,  for  the  drops  would  gradu- 


56  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

ally  increase  in  size  in  their  upward  motion,  by  the  finer 
particles  of  condensed  vapor  constantly  overtaking  them  in 
their  course,  and  uniting  with  them,  until,  by  their  increas- 
ing size,  and  the  diminishing  force  of  the  air,  from  its  di- 
minishing density,  they  would  stop  their  upward  motion, 
and  be  thrown  off  at  the  sides  of  the  vortex,  as  explained 
before. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  also,  that  the  suddenness  with 
which  "  the  cloud  gathered  blackness,  and  spread  in  every 
direction,  till  it  enveloped  the  whole  heavens,"  is  easily  and 
naturally  accounted  for  by  the  outward  motion  of  the  vor- 
tex above,  as  explained  in  a  preceding  part  of  this  section, 
Even  the  direction  in  which  the  spout  leaned,  from  the 
wind,  could  have  been  predicted  from  the  theory. 

84.  In  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal,  volumes  5 
and  6,  are  given  descriptions  and  plates  of  water  spouts, 
which  appear  to  me  almost  to  demonstrate,  of  themselves, 
the  theory  here  advanced.  Several  of  these  spouts  were 
attended  with  rain,  at  the  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  spout,  and  they  all  began  to  descend  from  the 
cloud  in  the  form  of  an  inverted  cone,  that  gradually  pro- 
ceeded downwards  to  meet  a  smokelike  appearance,  which 
rose  from  the  surface  of  the  water  to  meet  it. 

This  cone  was  black  at  first,  but,  towards  the  end,  it  be- 
gan to  appear  like  a  hollow  canal  ;  the  sea  water  could, 
even  while  it  was  entirely  black,-  be  seen  very  distinctly 
flying  up  along  the  middle  of  it,  as  smoke  does  up  a  chim- 
ney, with  great  swiftness ;  and  the  wind,  in  all  instances 
where  mentioned,  blew  towards  the  spout  below.  These 
phenomena,  with  the  exception  of  the  hollow  canal,  have 
already  been  explained. 

In  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Abridgment  of  the  Transac- 
tions of  the  Royal  Society  of  London,  a  description  of  many 
other  spouts  is  given,  attended  with  circumstances  similar 
to  those  already  described.  One  of  these  occurred  in  Eng- 


THEORY  CONFIRMED   BY  PHENOMENA.  57 

land,  on  the  3d  of  June,  1718.  "  It  was  stationary  for  a 
length  of  time  not  mentioned,  and  discharged  an  immense 
quantity  of  water,  without  thunder.  It  fell  on  a  space 
about  sixty  feet  over,  and  tore  up  the  ground  there  seven 
feet  deep  to  the  rock,  and  made  a  deep  gulf  for  about  half  a 
mile  from  that  place,  raising  a  stream  below,  so  as  to  render 
it  impassable."  All  this  must  have  occurred  in  a  few  min- 
utes, as,  immediately  on  the  appearance  of  the  spout,  some 
persons  attempted  to  run  home,  but  they  found  the  brook 
already  impassable. 

By  having  deferred  the  publication  of  these  essays  so 
long,  I  am  now  enabled  to  refer  to  a  highly  interesting  ac- 
count of  some  water  spouts,  seen  by  Lieut.  H.  W.  Ogden, 
and  communicated  in  the  January  number  of  Silliman's 
Journal.1 

It  was  in  May,  1820,  in  the  edge  of  the  Gnlf  stream,  the 
weather  being  very  warm,  and  the  atmosphere  close  and  op- 
pressive, when  seven  were  seen  in  the  course  of  half  an 
hour,  varying,  in  their  distance  from  the  ship,  from  two 
hundred  yards  to  two  miles.  Lieut.  Ogden  says  :  "  The 
atmosphere  was  filled  with  low,  ashy-colored  clouds,  some 
of  which  were  darker  underneath  than  others,  and  from 
these  the  water  spouts  were  generally  formed,  each  one 
from  a  separate  cloud.  In  some  instances,  they  were  per- 
fectly formed  before  we  observed  them,  but,  in  others,  we 
could  see  a  small  portion  of  the  cloud,  at  first  extend  down- 
wards, in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  cone,  and  then  continue 
to  descend,  not  very  rapidly,  until  it  reached  the  water.  In 
other  instances,  however,  we  observed  that  this  conical  ap- 
pearance of  a  portion  of  the  cloud  did  not  always  result  in 
the  perfect  formation  of  a  water  spout.  Several  times  we 
saw  the  cone  project,  continue  for  a  short  time  stationary, 
then  rise  again  slowly,  and  disappear  in  the  clouds.  This 
would,  in  some  cases,  occur  two  or  three  times  to  the  same 

1  See  also  Naval  Magazine,  No.  1,  vol.  1. 

8 


58  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

cloud;  but,  eventually,  a  larger  and  darker  cloud  would 
descend,  and  result  in  forming  the  visible  spout,  as  above 
mentioned." 

One  spout  passed  within  sixty  yards  of  the  ship,  and, 
after  having  been  visible  more  than  twenty  minutes,  at  the 
distance  of  about  three  hundred  yards,  its  lower  part  be- 
came smaller,  and  then  gradually  rose,  until  entirely  lost  in 
the  cloud,  part  of  which  still  hung  over  them.  Soon  after 
this,  several  severe  flashes  of  lightning  struck  near  the  ship, 
and  the  rain  began  to  fall  in  large  arid  very  cold  drops,  per- 
fectly fresh- 

85.  I  come  now  to  a  most  important  part  of  this  investi- 
gation, the  north  east  storms  of  the  Atlantic  States.  It  is 
well  known,  since  the  days  of  Franklin,  that  these  storms 
commence  in  the  south  west,  and  travel  towards  the  north 
east  with  a  velocity  which  varies  at  different  times  and 
places,  and  that  the  wind  always  blows  from  some  eastern 
point  at  the  commencement  of  the  storm. 

Mr.  Redfield,  of  New  York,  has  collected  a  great  many 
highly  interesting  facts  connected  with  these  storms,  of 
which  some  of  the  most  important  shall  now  be  detailed. 

"  When  a  storm  commences  within  the  torrid  zone,  it  trav- 
els west  of  north  until  it  reaches  lat.  30°,  when  it  has  be- 
come nearly  north ;  it  then  gradually  deflects  more  and  more 
east  of  north,  until  about  lat.  40°,  it  is  moving  about  north 
east.1  That  these  storms  are  probably  nearly  round,  vary- 
ing in  diameter,  and  more  slow  in  their  advance  along  the 
coast,  in  proportion  to  their  size,  and  also  slower  in  low  lat- 
itudes than  in  high."  I  have  found  that,  on  their  north 
western  side,  the  wind  sets  in  more  northerly  and  changes 
round  during  the  storm  by  north,  and  on  the  south  east  side 
of  the  storm  the  wind  sets  in  at  the  commencement  more 
easterly  and  south  easterly,  and  changes  round  by  the 
south,  on  the  coast  of  the  United  States. 

1  Perhaps  to  the  east,  or  south  of  east. 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  59 

Mr.  Redfield  thinks  that  these  facts  can  only  be  accounted 
for  on  the  supposition,  that  these  storms  are  exhibited  in 
the  form  of  great  whirlwinds. 

As  a  more  particular  proof  of  this  position,  he  details  the 
facts  which  occurred  in  Connecticut,  as  one  of  these  storms 
passed  there  in  1821.  He  says  "  that  the  mass  of  atmo- 
sphere upon  the  earth's  surface  was  moving  for  several 
hours,  apparently  towards  the  north  west,  over  Middletown, 
with  a  probable  velocity  of  seventy-five  or  one  hundred 
miles  per  hour,  while  in  the  northern  parts  of  Litchfield 
county,  at  a  distance  say  of  forty  miles,  the  wind,  at  about 
the  same  period,  was  blowing  with  nearly  equal  violence 
in  the  opposite  direction,"  towards  Middletown.  Now,  it 
will  appear  by  a  little  reflection,  that  all  these  facts  agree 
with  the  idea  of  an  upward  vortex,  more  consistently  than 
with  a  horizontal  whirlwind. 

Indeed,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  last  fact  is  in- 
consistent with  a  horizontal  whirlwind,  and  proves,  with 
irresistible  evidence,  the  existence  of  an  upward  vortex,  at 
least  in  this  storm.  For  two  winds  cannot  blow  towards 
each  other  for  several  hours  as  here  described,  without  either 
rising  upwards  when  they  meet,  or  blowing  outwards  at 
the  sides.  But  we  have  proof  positive,  that  they  did  not 
blow  outwards  at  the  sides,  for  at  New  York,  south  west 
of  the  point  between  Middletown  and  Litchfield,  to  which 
the  winds  from  those  places  were  blowing,  the  wind  changed 
round  by  the  north  to  the  north  west,  or  west,  about  the 
time  these  winds  began  to  blow  violently.  And  we  have 
strong  reason  to  believe  that  it  did  not  blow  outwards  to 
the  north  east,  for,  at  the  commencement  of  the  storm, 
through  its  whole  course,  the  wind  always  blew  from  some 
eastern  point. 

There  is  one  conclusion  which  Mr.  Redfield  draws,  which 
I  do  not  find  to  be  justified  by  facts  detailed  in  this  storrn. 
"  That  along  the  central  portion  of  the  track,  the  storm  was 
violent  from  the  south  eastern  quarter,  changing  suddenly 


60  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

to  an  opposite  direction"  Now  I  find  that,  of  fifteen  points 
on  the  south  east  side  of  the  storm,  at  which  the  wind  set 
in  south  of  east,  only  two — Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  and 
one  at  sea,  forty  miles  north  of  Cape  Henry  —  are  given,  as 
having  the  wind  to  change  round,  even  as  far  as  the  west. 
These  two  I  suspected  as  being  contrary  to  my  theory ;  and, 
upon  examination  of  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  I  find  that 
they  report  the  wind  at  both  these  places  to  have  changed 
round  only  to  the  south  west,  just  as  far  as  it  should  change 
to  satisfy  my  theory. 

All  these  facts  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  in  this  storm,  at 
least  the  wind  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  storm,  blew  di- 
rectly towards  its  centre,  and  if  so,  it  follows,  beyond  all 
doubt,  that  there  was  an  upward  motion  in  the  middle  of  the 
storm.  Now,  as  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  an  upward 
vortex  being  formed  in  the  region  of  the  storm,  if  there  is  a 
condensation  of  air  there,  so  it  can  only  continue  on  the 
supposition  that  the  air,  as  fast  as  it  arrives  in  the  vortex 
from  all  sides,  becomes  rarefied,  whatever  may  be  the  cause 
of  that  rarefaction. 

86.  As  it  has  been  said  that  a  condensation  in  the  region 
of  the  storm  would  cause  an  afflux  of  air  there,  let  us  for  a 
moment  examine  the  assertion.  Suppose  that  no  latent  ca- 
loric is  given  out  in  the  condensation  of  vapor,  and  that  in  a 
circular  space  of  one  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  five  inches 
of  rain  have  fallen,  the  whole  condensation  which  would 
take  place  by  the  change  of  vapor  to  water,  would  be  less 
than  a  fiftieth  of  the  whole  atmosphere,  and  the  air  on  all 
sides  of  the  storm,  would  not  have  to  move  one  mile 
towards  the  centre,  before  the  equilibrium  would  be  re- 
stored. Besides,  it  is  manifest  that  this  motion  could  not 
take  place  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  rather  in  the 
region  of  the  cloud  and  above  it.  And  even  if  the  velocity 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth  is  supposed  to  be  as  great  as  in 
the  region  of  the  cloud,  it  could  not  be  a  mile  an  hour,  for 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  61 

it  never  has  been  known  to  rain  five  inches  an  hour  in  a 
storm  of  this  magnitude,  and  the  condensation  of  the  air  is 
supposed  to  take  place  during  the  whole  rain. 

87.  I  have  myself  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  and  point- 
ing out  to  many  of  my  friends  at  various  times,  the  clouds 
moving  outwards  above,  and  inwards  below,  during  a  sum- 
mer's thunder  gust,  which  could  not  be,  if  there  was  a  con- 
densation of  air  in  the  region  of  the  cloud,  and  I  may  add, 
without  the  fear  of  contradiction,  that  it  proves  the  reverse. 
Besides,  I  have  known  many  instances  of  long  continued 
and  violent  rains  in  the  south,  during  the  prevalence  of  a 
strong  and  long  continued  north  wind,  and  of  long  con- 
tinued and  violent  rains  in  the  north,  during  the  strong  arid 
long  continued  south  wind. 

An  instance  of  the  latter  occurred  on  the  llth,  12th,  13th, 
14th,  and  15th  of  May,  1833.  In  my  journal  it  is  stated 
that  a  strong  south  wind  prevailed  during  this  whole  period 
night  and  day.  And  by  consulting  the  papers  of  the  pe- 
riod, I  find  the  following  facts : 

Harrisburg,  May  16,  1833.  When  our  paper  went  to 
press,  the  Stisquehannah  was  sixteen  feet  above  low  water 
mark,  and  rising  —  a  greater  freshet  than  has  taken  place 
for  sixteen  years  —  the  rain  must  have  been  much  greater 
up  the  river  than  in  the  vicinity. 

Albany,  loth.  The  most  painful  accounts  begin  to  be 
received  of  the  destructive  effects  of  the  freshet.  The  river 
continued  to  rise  until  ten  o'clock  this  morning,  when  it 
was  a  foot  higher  than  it  was  in  the  great  freshet  occasioned 
by  the  ice  in  the  spring.  On  the  17th,  it  had  fallen  only  a 
few  inches. 

The  Amsterdam  (Mohawk  Herald)  of  the  16th,  says, 
"  every  bridge  and  mill  dam  on  the  creek  near  Fort  John- 
son has  been  swept  away." 

Hartford,  18th.  The  water  in  the  Connecticut  last  eve- 
ning, was  19|  feet  above  low  water  mark. 


62  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Montreal,  May  15th.  A  larger  quantity  of  rain  has  fallen 
here  since  midnight  of  last  Friday,  (five  days,)  than  we 
have  had  for  a  considerable  period  past,  and  the  rain  is 
now  falling  in  torrents,  the  atmosphere  cool  and  very  un- 
pleasant. 

The  Goshen  Patriot  says,  the  Delaware  rose  twelve  feet 
above  an  ordinary  freshet  —  not  a  raft  above  Milford  was 
preserved  entire. 

These  facts  afford  conclusive  evidence  that,  in  this  case 
at  least,  the  wind  at  Philadelphia  blew  hard  for  five  days, 
exactly  towards  one  of  the  greatest  rains  which  our  country 
has  ever  witnessed.  And  the  statement,  that  the  atmos- 
phere at  Montreal  was  cool  and  very  unpleasant,  would 
lead  us  to  suppose  that  the  wind  there  was  coming  from 
some  northern  quarter;  for,  during  this  whole  period,  the 
temperature  was  very  high  in  Philadelphia,  the  mean  mini- 
mum being  65°,  and  the  mean  maximum  76°,  and  if  a 
southern  wind  prevailed  there,  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that 
the  air  would  have  been  cool  and  unpleasant. 

Again,  from  the  3d  of  June,  1835,  to  the  12th  of  the  same 
month,  the  wind  was  constantly  from  the  north,  with  one 
exception  from  north  east,  pretty  strong  for  a  considerable 
portion  of  time. 

I  find  by  the  Charleston  Courier,  that  a  dreadful  storm 
of  rain  set  in  there  on  the  3d,  arid  another  very  violent  one 
on  the  8th,  which  was  increasing  when  the  paper  went  to 
press  on  the  9th  at  10  P.  M.,  and  that  on  that  day  there  had 
been  no  mail  from  Fayetteville,  and  that  there  were  six  letter 
mails  due  from  New  York  and  Boston,  and  five  from  Wash- 
ington, Baltimore,  and  Philadelphia. 

All  these  facts  seem  utterly  at  variance  with  a  horizontal 
whirlwind ;  and  entirely  consistent  with  an  upward  vortex, 
if  they  do  not  absolutely  prove  one. 

88.  If  Mr.  Redfield  should  perceive  that  all  the  interest- 
ing facts  which  he  has  with  such  laudable  industry  collected, 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  63 

are  fully  explained  by  a  theory  which  accounts  also  for  the 
rain,  I  am  sure  he  will  not  he  very  tenacious  of  his  hori- 
zontal whirlwind;  especially  when  he  does  not  pretend  to 
show  that  either  the  whirlwind  is  the  cause  of  the  rain,  or 
the  rain  the  cause  of  the  whirlwind.  Let  us,  however,  ex- 
amine for  a  moment  (for  I  should  be  proud  to  enlist  Mr. 
Redfield  under  the  banners  of  a  true  theory)  what  would 
be  the  phenomena,  on  the  supposition  that  there  is  a  hori- 
zontal whirlwind,  say  of  one  hundred  miles  in  diameter, 
moving  with  a  velocity  of  severity-five  miles  an  hour,  or 
one  hundred  and  ten  feet  per  second.  It  is  demonstrated  in 
mechanics,  that  if  a  body  moves  in  a  circle,  with  a  diame- 
ter of  sixteen  feet,  and  a  velocity  of  sixteen  feet  per  second, 
its  centrifugal  force  will  be  equal  to  its  gravity.  And  as 
centrifugal  force  is  directly  as  the  square  of  the  velocity, 
and  inversely  as  the  radius,  the  centrifugal  force  of  the  air 
in  this  whirlwind  is  ascertained  by  the  following  proportion  : 

16  .'  *  (gravity)  I!  §5*5280  '.  4  oryVthpart  of  the  gravity. 
And  as  a  wedge  of  air  fifty  miles  long  is  about  eight 
times  as  heavy  as  a  column  of  atmosphere  equal  to  its  base, 
its  whole  centrifugal  force  will  be  SXyV  of  fifteen  pounds 
to  the  square  inch,  which  would  cause  the  barometer  to  rise 
about  1T4<5-  of  an  inch  in  the  borders  of  the  storm,  both  at  its 
commencement  and  termination  ;  and  cause  a  motion  of  the 
air  outwards  due  to  this  pressure,  which  would  be  about 
two  hundred  and  eighty  feet  per  second,  according  to  the 
principles  of  spouting  fluids.  Now  these  two  phenomena 
are  entirely  wanting  in  all  north  east  storms ;  for  the  air 
does  not  blow  outwards  from  the  storm,  nor  does  the  ba- 
rometer rise  at  the  termination  above  the  mean,  though  it 
sometimes  does  at  the  commencement,  for  a  reason  which 
shall  hereafter  be  explained.  Besides,  if  such  a  whirlwind 
could  be  generated,  it  is  manifest  that  it  would  soon  be  de- 
stroyed by  its  outward  motion,  unless  some  mighty  cause 


64  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

exists,  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge,  to  generate  new 
motion  in  the  air,  which  would  descend  from  the  upper  re- 
gions of  the  atmosphere  in  the  middle  of  the  whirlwind,  to 
take  the  place  of  that  which  had  thrust  itself  out  by  its 
centrifugal  force.  It  may  be  added,  that  the  readiness  and 
ease  with  which  the  air  would  descend  in  this  whirlwind, 
would  be  so  great  that  the  rarefaction  of  the  air  in  the  in- 
side, caused  by  the  centrifugal  force  of  the  air  would  be  a 
quantity  very  minute,  unless  we  suppose  the  whirlwind  to 
reach  to  a  great  height,  which  cannot  be  the  case,  if  it  is 
produced  by  friction  on  the  West  India  Islands,  and  on 
our  coast,  as  is  alleged  by  Mr.  Redfield. 

Therefore,  it  will  not  account  for  the  great  fall  which  is 
known  to  take  place  in  the  barometer,  during  these  violent 
storms,  a  fact  which  is  fully  explained  by  the  theory  here 
proposed.  Besides,  Mr.  Redfield  need  not  be  told  that  this 
downward  motion  of  the  air  in  the  centre  of  the  whirlwind, 
would  increase  its  capacity  for  vapor,  and  effectually  pre- 
vent deposition,  or  formation  of  cloud. 

89.  If  all  other  proofs  were  wanting,  our  great  north  east 
storms  of  six  or  eight  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  from  north 
east  to  south  west,  and  of  unknown  extent  from  south  east 
to  north  west,  would  afford  us  an  undeniable  proof  of  an  up- 
ward current.  These  storms  always  set  in  from  near  the 
north  east,  and  terminate  near  the  west.  So  we  have  proof 
positive,  that  the  wind,  near  the  surface  of  the  earth,  is 
always  blowing  both  east  and  west  of  the  storm  towards 
the  storm  itself.  I  have  observed  these  storms  for  many 
years,  and  I  have  never  known  but  two  to  terminate  with 
the  wind  from  the  eastern  quarter,  and  then  the  anomaly 
was  soon  explained  in  both  instances,  by  another  storm 
coming  on  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours.  But  even  in  these 
cases,  after  the  termination  of  the  first  storm,  the  wind  was 
very  gentle,  nearly  calm. 

The  wind  always  commences  from  the  north  east,  some 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  bo 

hours  (from  ten  to  forty)  before  the  beginning  of  the  rain 
or  snow,  and  does  not  change  till  near  the  end :  however, 
it  is  believed  that  the  upper  clouds,  during  all  this  time, 
continue  to  come  from  the  south  west. 

They  certainly  do  so  till  they  are  concealed  from  view  by 
the  lower  clouds,  which  generally  form  a  short  time  before 
it  begins  to  rain,  and  the  moment  the  lower  clouds  break 
away  a  little,  near  the  end  of  the  storm,  the  upper  clouds 
are  seen  moving  in  the  same  direction.  Besides,  I  have 
more  than  once  got  a  peep  through  the  lower  clouds,  during 
the  progress  of  a  storm,  and  discovered  thick,  dense  clouds 
above,  coming  from  the  south  west. 

I  have  also  seen  instances  of  a  strong  wind  at  the  surface, 
directly  opposite  to  the  motion  of  dense  clouds  above,  which 
were  evidently  not  very  high,  from  their  great  velocity,  and 
I  afterwards  learned  that  at  the  same  moment  there  was  a 
very  great  rain  about  one  hundred  miles  distant,  in  the  di- 
rection towards  which  the  lower  wind  was  blowing.  The 
extent,  however,  of  these  rains,  I  did  not  learn.  It  must 
depend  upon  future  and  more  extended  observations,  to 
learn  whether  the  outward  motion  of  the  air  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  vortex,  extends  beyond  the  boundary  to  which 
the  inward  motion  of  the  air  below  reaches. 

90.  On  the  ocean,  it  is  known  that  these  storms  are  at- 
tended with  immense  swells,  reaching  beyond  the  agitation 
of  the  atmosphere.  This  effect  is  probably  much  more  de- 
pendent on  the  diminished  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  on 
the  ocean  under  the  vortex,  than  on  its  horizontal  velocity. 
For  a  fall  of  three  inches  in  the  barometer  will  cause  a  rise 
of  the  water  of  more  than  three  feet  to  produce  equilibrium, 
and  as  the  waters  would  move  in  all  directions  towards  the 
point  of  least  pressure,  their  momentum  would  cause  a  rise 
two  or  three  times  this  quantity  independent  of  the  effect 
caused  by  the  friction  of  the  air.  How  far  the  reciproca- 
tion of  this  wave  would  extend  I  am  not  at  able  to  say.  I 
9 


66  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

have  read  of  considerable  elevations  of  the  water,  at  one 
end  of  the  lake  of  Geneva,  which  were  evidently  not  pro- 
duced by  the  wind  blowing  over  the  surface  of  the  lake  in 
a  direction  favorable  to  such  an  elevation ;  if  there  was  a 
spout  passing,  near  the  time  of  the  elevation,  it  would  ac- 
count for  the  phenomenon.  Indeed,  if  the  spout  should 
even  pass  over  the  middle  of  the  lake,  and  the  barometer 
should  fall  there  three  inches,  it  would  cause  such  a  swell 
that  its  reciprocations  would  reach  its  extremities  after  the 
spout  had  passed  away,  and  thus  these  swells  would  appear 
to  take  place  in  the  midst  of  a  calm,  and  so  be  apparently 
unconnected  with  the  wind.  Mr.  Dalton  informs  us  that 
"  the  surface  of  Lake  Derwent  is  sometimes  agitated,  when 
no  wind  can  be  perceived,  in  so  violent  a  manner,  that  it 
exhibits  large  waves  with  white  breakers.  The  phenome- 
non is  called  a  bottom  wind ;  but  the  cause  of  it  is  utterly 
unknown."  Lake  Wetter,  in  Sweden,  is  affected  in  a  simi- 
lar manner.1  The  theory  of  upward  vortices  shows  how 
such  an  effect  might  be  produced. 

91.  Even  as  to  the  barometer  itself,  I  have  not  seen  any 
theory  which  is  able  satisfactorily  to  account  for  its  great 
and  sudden  falls.  It  cannot  be  the  diminished  pressure 
which  takes  place  from  the  deposition  of  rain,  for  if  ten 
inches  of  rain  were  to  fall  so  suddenly  that  the  air  would 
not  have  time  to  rush  in  and  restore  the  equilibrium,  it 
would  not  cause  the  barometer  to  fall  one  inch. 

Indeed,  so  great  has  been  the  difficulty  on  this  point,  that 
the  author  of  the  art.  Physical  Geography,  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Encylopsedia,  thinks  these  depressions  are  caused  by 
the  destruction  of  large  portions  of  the  air  in  the  higher 
regions  of  the  atmosphere  by  electricity  acting  on  the  com- 
bustibles which  ascend  there  from  the  earth.  I  need  hardly 
add  that  this  phenomenon  is  a  corollary  from  the  theory 
here  advanced. 

1  Ed.  Ency.,  art.  Physical  Geography. 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  67 

92.  It  has  been  thought,  also,  that  the  centrifugal  force  of 
the  wind  blowing  over  the  curvature  of  the  earth's  surface, 
might  cause  these  great  depressions  of  the  barometer.     But 
if  we  suppose  the  whole  of  the  air  in  motion  with  a  velocity 
of  one  hundred  miles  an  hour,  and  calculate  its  centrifugal 
force  according  to  the  principles  laid  down  before,  its  grav- 
ity would  be  diminished,  when  the  wind  was  west,  only 
about  one  hundred  thousandth  of  its  whole  weight,  which 
would  cause  the  barometer  to  fall  .0003  of  an  inch  ;  and  if 
the  wind  is  east,  it  will  readily  be  perceived  that  its  gravity 
will  be  increased  to  the  same  amount.     The  theory  will  also 
account  for  the  great  depression  of  the  barometer,  which 
is  known  sometimes  to  accompany  the  action  of  volcanoes. 

93.  On  the  19th  of  December,  1821,  a  violent  eruption 
commenced  from  the  old  volcano  Eyaf  jeld  Jokkul,  in  Ice- 
land, which  had  been  quiet  since  the  year  1612.     On  the 
very  day  of  the  commencement  of  the  eruption  the  waters 
of  the  rivers  which  descended  from  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains, were  considerably  increased.     All  over  Europe  dread- 
ful storms  of  wind,  hail  and  rain  succeeded  the  commence- 
ment of  this  eruption.     On  the  24th,  particularly,  extraor- 
dinary devastations  were  experienced  in  very  distant  parts 
of  Europe,  and  generally,  wherever  the  hurricane  appeared, 
deluges  of  rain  accompanied  it.     At  Genoa,  and  many  other 
parts  of  Italy,  the  storm  is  described  as  particularly  severe, 
(wind  S.  and  S.  E.,)  many  parts  of  the  country  and  the 
roads   being  entirely  submerged;    and  the  next  day,   the 
25th,   the  barometer  fell  unusually  low  all  over  Europe, 
including  Great  Britain.     Now  it  is  highly  probable,  that 
the  eruption  of  the  volcano  threw  out  immense  quantities 
of  vapor,  and  if  so,  the  condensation  of  this  vapor  would 
heat  up  the  atmosphere  by  the  evolution  of  its  latent  caloric, 
as  was  explained  before,  and  this  heated  air  would  rise  and 
spread  out  in  all  directions ;  and  a  vortex  being  thus  estab- 
lished and  kept  up  by  the  action  of  the  volcano,  both  by 


68  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

mechanical  force  and  by  a  diminution  of  specific  gravity, 
the  air  rolling  out  on  all  sides  above,  and  pressing  in  on  all 
sides  below,  a  general  rain  would  be  the  consequence,  and 
this  rain  might  spread  out  so  far  from  the  centre  of  action, 
as  to  reach  even  the  south  of  Europe  in  five  days.  The 
barometer  continued  to  fall,  in  Iceland,  from  the  day  before 
the  appearance  of  the  volcano,  till  the  twenty-sixth  day 
after  it  was  at  the  lowest  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  and 
two  days  after  the  prevalence  of  great  storms  in  Italy  and 
France.  During  all  this  time  the  volcano  was  in  active 
operation,  and  even  as  late  as  the  23d  of  February,  it 
emitted  smoke  greatly  resembling  steam  of  boiling  water. 
The  whole  quantity  of  rain  which  fell  from  the  19th  till  the 
24th,  must  have  been  very  great ;  for  even  as  far  south  as 
Genoa,  the  air,  for  several  days  previous  to  the  24th,  when 
the  great  tempest  occurred  there,  "  had  been  filled  with  thick 
vapors,  which  vented  themselves  in  torrents  of  rain,  and 
the  wind  blew  from  the  south  with  intense  violence."  This 
south  wind  would  bring  from  the  Mediterranean  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  vapor,  to  be  condensed  when  it  entered 
into  this  vast  upward  vortex.  Let  us  suppose  then,  what 
is  certainly  within  bounds,  that  five  inches  on  an  average 
of  rain,  fell  over  the  surface  of  Europe,  from  the  19th  till 
the  24th,  or  the  morning  of  the  25th ;  and  in  Paris,  where 
the  flood  was  not  as  great  as  in  many  other  places,  there 
fell  6.4  inches.  From  the  principles  explained  before,  the 
caloric  given  out  by  the  vapor  in  condensing  into  rain, 
would  heat  the  whole  atmosphere  11.4°  for  every  inch  of 
rain,  or  in  the  present  case  57.°  And  as  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  air  was  certainly  below  32°  the  expansion 
due  to  this  increase  of  temperature  would  be  more  than  |§70  of 
the  whole,  which  would  cause  the  air  to  stand  at  its  surface 
five  and  a  half  miles  higher  over  the  region  where  the  rain 
had  been  deposited,  than  in  surrounding  countries,  provided 
it  was  forty-five  miles  high  before  the  deposition,  and  none 
had  flowed  off. 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  69 

This  last  supposition,  however,  cannot  be  true,  for  the 
moment  it  began  to  swell  up  by  expansion,  it  would  begin 
also  to  flow  off,  and  the  depression  of  the  barometer  would 
be  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  rolling  off  above,  greater 
than  that  which  ran  in  below  towards  the  point  of  least 
pressure.  This  difference  would  be  considerable  for  two 
reasons  ;  first,  the  air  below  would  not  begin  to  run  in  until 
the  air  above  had  rolled  out;  for  a  mere  expansion  and 
swelling  up  of  the  air  would  not  diminish  its  gravitation, 
and  second,  its  resistance  would  be  less  from  friction  than 
the  lower  air  would  experience  rubbing  along  the  surface 
of  the  earth.  Besides,  its  outward  motion  from  the  centre 
of  the  vortex,  would  not  so  much  be  a  rolling  down  an 
inclined  plane  in  consequence  of  its  being  swelled  into  a 
greater  perpendicular  height,  as  a  shoving  out  of  the  sur- 
rounding air  at  an  elevation  of  about  three  and  a  half  miles 
and  upwards,  where  the  air  in  the  vortex  would  overbalance 
the  surrounding  air,  as  will  easily  be  conceived  by  any  one 
who  will  consider  the  effect  of  an  upheaving  of  the  at- 
mosphere by  expansion.  From  all  these  causes  facilitating 
the  outward  motion  of  the  upper  air  in  the  vortex,  it  is 
probable  that  at  least  one  half  of  the  quantity  of  air  ele- 
vated in  the  vortex  above  the  surrounding  air,  by  expan- 
sion, would  flow  off,  arid  if  so,  it  would  cause  a  depression 
of  the  barometer,  within  the  region  of  the  rain,  of  more  than 
one  inch  and  a  half.  And  this  corresponds  with  the  de- 
pressions given  in  many  places. 

This  depression  would  cause  a  velocity  of  the  air  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  on  the  outside  of  the  vortex,  towards 
the  centre  of  rarefication,  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  miles 
per  hour,  if  there  was  no  friction  ;  but  as  the  friction  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth  is  very  great,  the  velocity  would  proba- 
bly not  be  more  than  one  half  this  quantity,  or  fifty- seven 
miles  per  hour.  This  velocity  would  not  be  sufficient  to 
produce  the  overflowing  of  the  sea  at  Genoa,  Leghorn  and 


70  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Trieste,  but  if  to  the  force  of  the  wind,  we  add  the  dimin- 
ished pressure  of  the  air  along  the  northern  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  Adriatic,  and  the  increase  of  the 
pressure  of  the  air  on  the  outside  of  the  storm,  by  the  rush  of 
the  air  outwards  above  ;  the  rise  of  waters,  there  might  be 
quite  sufficient  to  produce  the  disastrous  effects  which 
spread  consternation  over  so  much  of  the  southern  part  of 
Europe. 

Was  the  remarkably  warm  winter  of  1821  and  1822,  in 
all  the  north  of  Europe,  caused  by  the  immense  quantity  of 
latent  caloric  given  out  during  these  great  rains,  together 
with  the  southern  winds  which  prevailed  in  consequence  of 
the  upward  vortex  of  air  over  Iceland  during  this  whole 
winter  ?  At  St.  Petersburg,  dreadful  floods  of  rain  repeat- 
edly occurred  during  the  winter,  and  the  snow  had  entirely 
disappeared  by  the  first  of  February;  and  even  beyond 
Tobolsk,  warm  winds  prevailed,  and  generally  in  the  inte- 
rior there  was  no  snow.  And  on  the  2d  of  March,  the 
Dwina  was  free  from  ice  at  Riga.1 

If  this  were  the  only  fact  on  record,  of  rain  accompany- 
ing volcanoes,  it  ought  in  this  case,  to  be  considered  acci- 
dental and  unconnected,  but  nothing  is  better  established 
than  the  connexion  of  volcanoes  with  rains,  from  their  very 
frequent  concomitancy.  Indeed,  Baron  Humboldt  speaks 
of  the  mysterious  connexion  of  volcanoes  with  rains,  and 
adds,  that  they  sometimes  on  breaking  out  change  dry  sea- 
sons into  rainy  in  South  America.  This  connexion  will  be 
considered  mysterious  no  longer.  It  may  here  be  added  as 
a  reason  why  volcanoes  do  not  always  produce  rains,  that 
in  the  most  unfavorable  state  of  the  dew  point,  rains  cannot 
be  produced. 

M.  Lyell,  in  his  Principles  of  Geology,  vol.  2,  page  94, 

1  See  the  Phil.  Journals  of  1822,  which  all  seem  to  acknowledge  that  there 
was  some  connexion  between  the  bursting  out  of  this  volcano  and  the  rains 
which  ensued. 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  71 

says,  "  Aqueous  vapors  are  evolved  copiously  from  a  crater 
during  eruptions,  and  often  for  a  long  time  subsequently  to 
the  discharge  of  scoria  and  lava.  These  vapors  are  con- 
densed in  the  cold  atmosphere  surrounding  the  high  vol- 
canic peak,  and  heavy  rains  are  thus  caused  in  countries 
where,  at  the  same  season,  and  under  ordinary  circumstan- 
ces, such  a  phenomenon  is  entirely  unknown. 

We  learn  from  history,  that  a  heavy  shower  of  sand, 
pumice,  and  lapilli,  sufficiently  great  to  render  Pompeii  and 
Herculaneum  uninhabitable,  fell  for  eight  successive  days 
and  nights,  in  the  year  79,  accompanied  by  violent  rains. 

94.  Journal   of    Royal    Institution,    vol.    1,    page    302. 
Rain  and  hail  in  an  eruption  of  Vesuvius,  on  25th  March, 
1828,  are  mentioned,  and  also  on  5th  July  of  same  year. 
Quarterly  Jour,  of  Sci.  Lit.  and  the  Arts,  vol.  5,  page  201. 
In  an  eruption  of  Vesuvius,  on  25th  December,  1817,  there 
was  a  hail  storm,  accompanied  with  red  sand.     Jour.  Sci. 
and  Arts,  vol.  19,  page  230.     A  hail  storm  occurred  during 
an  irruption  of  Mount  J^tna,  21st  June,  1813.     In  vol.  20, 
page  358,  G.  Poulettsrope,  in  a  work  on  volcanoes,  says, 
It  must  be  noticed,  that  from  the  action  of  the  volcano  on 
the  atmosphere,  clouds  are  generally  formed  in  it,  which 
produce  falls  of  rain,  often  causing  torrents,  or  even  inun- 
dations. 

95.  If  the  reader  will  examine  the  writings  of  M.  Du 
Carla  in  the  Oserv.  sur  la  Physique,  he  will  find  the  most 
triumphant  proofs  of  the  influence  both  of  mountains  and 
volcanoes  in  forming  clouds  and  rain.     Indeed,  the  author 
goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  eternal  rains  in  Northern  Peru 
around  the  volcanoes  there,  which  are  always  in  blast,  draw 
away  the  vapor  from  Southern  Peru,  and  thus  prevent  it 
from  raining  there. 

96.  Cumuli   or  column   clouds  are   formed   in   the   fol- 
lowing manner;    air   at    the    surface  of  the   ground   be- 
low becomes  heated,  as  it  always  does  in  clear,  calm  days, 


72  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

some  degrees  hotter  than  the  air  a  little  above  the  surface, 
and  thus  produces  an  unstable  equilibrium,  so  that  the  least 
agitation  would  cause  an  upward  motion  to  commence  at 
the  point  of  greatest  heat,  especially  if  that  point  contained 
a  higher  dew  point,  as  it  generally  does.  As  soon  as  this 
motion  commences,  other  air  rushes  in  below,  and  the 
higher  and  longer  the  column  of  heated  air  becomes,  the 
more  rapid  does  the  upward  motion  become,  and  finally, 
after  the  upper  end  of  the  column  is  as  many  hundred 
yards  high  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  on  the  ground  is 
above  the  dew  point  in  degrees  of  Fahr.,  the  cold  produced 
by  the  expansion  of  the  air,  begins  to  condense  the  va- 
por arid  form  cloud,  and  still  as  other  air  rises  to  that 
elevation  it  begins  to  condense  likewise,  and  thus  the 
base  of  the  cloud  remains  at  the  same  elevation,  while 
the  cloud  goes  on  increasing  in  perpendicular  height 
above.  This  is  the  kind  of  cloud  which  is  formed  almost 
every  clear  day  in  the  summer  when  the  dew  point  is  not 
very  low,  but  never  forms  when  it  is  overcast.  When  the 
air  is  calm,  if  these  clouds  are  observed  carefully  when 
they  are  forming,  they  will  be  seen  to  increase  in  perpen- 
dicular height  while  their  bases  remain  at  the  same  level. 
They  rise  in  the  form  of  pyramids  or  cones,  with  dense, 
well-defined  outlines,  as  white  as  snow.  If  they  do  not 
meet  with  an  upper  current  causing  their  tops  to  lean  in  the 
direction  in  which  it  is  moving,  they  rise  perpendicularly, 
and  as  they  are  broad  enough  even  at  their  tops  to  lift  up 
before  them  a  considerable  mass  of  air,  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  in  reaching  strata  of  air  highly  charged  with 
vapor  it  lifts  them  to  a  higher  elevation,  and  causes  a  thin 
streak  of  cloud  to  be  formed  at  some  distance  above  the  top 
of  the  columnar  cloud.  This  streak  so  formed  I  have  de- 
nominated a  cap.  It  is  generally  a  little  curved  convex 
above,  and  concave  below,  and  as  it  moves  slower  upwards 
than  the  columnar  cloud,  the  latter  overtakes  it  and  passes 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  73 

through  it.  Meanwhile  the  cap  appears  like  a  thin  vapor 
spread  over  a  mass  of  snow.  Sometimes  when  a  columnar 
cloud  is  very  strong  and  rapid  in  its  ascent,  a  second  and 
even  a  third  cap  is  formed,  with  similar  appearances. 
When  this  happens,  rain  from  the  cloud  is  certain.  First, 
however,  the  top  of  the  cloud  is  seen  to  change  its  dense 
and  well-defined  appearance  and  become  hazy.  This  is  a 
sign  that  the  cloud  is  about  to  rain,  and  in  a  few  minutes, 
if  the  cloud  is  favorably  situated,  rain  will  be  seen  descend- 
ing from  its  base.  These  appearances  are  all  best  seen 
when  the  base  of  the  cloud  is  a  few  degrees  above  the 
horizon.  The  top  of  the  cloud  as  it  hazes  is  generally,  in 
this  climate,  carried  off  by  the  upper  current  towards  the 
N.  E.  and  forms  that  feathery  cloud  which  is  so  different  in 
appearance  from  all  other  clouds.  It  is  the  highest  of  all 
the  clouds  except  the  tops  of  these  columnar  clouds,  which 
generally  rise  through  it. 

In  passing  through  it  the  columnar  clouds  generally  form 
a  very  dense  cap,  and  are  sure  to  haze  and  rain  soon  after 
their  passage.  After  they  begin  to  rain  they  soon  cease  to 
rise;  but  other  columns  spring  up  contiguous  to  them, 
generally  on  the  south  west  side  of  them,  as  far  as  I  have 
observed,  and  as  theory  seems  to  indicate,  and  go  through 
the  same  process  of  cap-forming,  hazing  and  raining  as  the 
parent  cloud. 

These  new  columns,  when  they  first  make  their  appear- 
ance, I  have  denominated  sprouts.  This  name  i$  not  in- 
appropriate, for  these  sprouts  are  evidently  generated,  or  at 
least  assisted  in  their  growth,  by  the  parent  column,  in  the 
following  manner.  As  the  parent  column  rises  into  the  up- 
per current  of  air,  which  generally  comes  from  the  south  west 
or  W.  S.  W.  its  top  is  made  to  lean  towards  the  north  east 
or  E.  N.  E.,  but  by  its  inertia  it  causes  the  current  there  to 
run  a  little  slower,  and  so  the  column  which  may  be  about 
to  form  behind  it  towards  the  south  west  finds  less  difficulty 
10 


74  PHILOSOPHY  CF  STORMS. 

in  rising,  and  preserves  a  more  erect  position,  and  thus  can 
attain  a  greater  elevation.  Hence,  the  first  attempts  of 
columnar  clouds  to  rain  are  generally  failures,  because 
their  tops  are  generally  shaved  off  or  pressed  over  towards 
the  north  east,  and  thus  dissipated  without  raining;  each  suc- 
ceeding cloud  in  its  wake  finding  a  stiller  air  in  its  upward 
motion,  attains  a  greater  elevation.  Finally,  one  reaches  a 
height  sufficient  to  produce  rain,  and  then  a  new  source  of 
power  is  called  into  action,  powerfully  aiding  the  formation 
of  sprouts.  This  is  the  descending  rain  cooling  the  air 
below  the  cloud,  and  causing  it  by  its  greater  specific 
gravity,  and  also  by  the  weight  of  the  drops  of  rain,  to 
move  outwards  in  all  directions  from  the  centre  of  the  rain. 

Now  as  the  air  all  round  the  parent  cloud  is  running  in 
at  the  base  of  the  cloud,  and  below  towards  the  cloud,  this 
air  is  obliged  to  rise  up  over  the  stratum  of  cold  heavy  air, 
pressed  outwards  around  the  borders  of  the  shower,  and 
thus  its  upward  motion  is  increased ;  and  as  the  dew  point 
is  more  likely  to  be  higher  on  the  south  side  of  the  cloud 
than  on  the  north,  sprouts  will  on  that  account  be  more 
likely  to  form  on  the  south  than  on  the  north.  To  see  the 
formation  of  sprouts  to  the  greatest  advantage  then,  the 
cloud  should  be  to  the  north  of  the  observer. 

If  these  theoretical  deductions  are  correct,  and  as  far  as 
observation  extends  it  does  not  contradict  them,  it  would 
follow,  that  the  progress  of  rain  may  be  from  a  northern 
direction,  though  the  upper  current  may  be  constantly  car- 
rying the  hazy  cloud  formed  from  the  tops  of  all  these 
columns  towards  the  east.  Further  observations  are  want- 
ing on  this  point. 

I  would  recommend  that  gentlemen  residing  in  mountain- 
ous districts,  where  the  clouds  sometimes  form  on  the  sides 
of  the  mountains,  should  ascertain  the  perpendicular  height 
of  these  clouds  at  their  base,  and  see  whether  they  are  one 
hundred  yards  high  for  every  degree  of  Fahr.  which  the 


THEORY  CONFIRMED  BY  PHENOMENA.  75 

temperature  of  the  air  is  above  the  dew  point  c.t  the  mo- 
ment of  their  formation. 

If  gentlemen  have  no  means  of  taking  the  dew  point 
directly,  the  following  method  will  be  found  equally  correct 
in  ascertaining  the  height  of  the  base  of  these  particular 
clouds,  at  any  time  of  the  day,  for  the  height  varies  every 
hour.  Swing  a  thermometer  (Fahr.)  rapidly  in  the  air  to 
avoid  the  effect  of  radiation,  note  its  temperature,  then  cover 
its  bulb  with  a  wet  rag  and  swing  it  as  before  until  it  sinks 
as  low  as  evaporation  can  make  it,  then  divide  one  hun- 
dred and  three  times  the  difference  of  these  temperatures 
by  the  wet  bulb  temperature,  the  quotient  will  be  the  height 
of  the  base  of  the  clouds  in  question,  in  hundred  yards.  For 
example,  suppose  the  dry  bulb  is  56|°,  and  the  wet  one  51|°, 
then  the  base  of  the  clouds  will  be  one  thousand  yards  high. 
This  height  is  calculated  on  the  supposition  that  air  cools  at 
5°  Fahr.  in  ascending  to  a  height  where  the  barometer  would 
be  one  inch  lower  than  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  5° 
more  for  every  additional  inch.  If  this  latter  law  is  not 
strictly  correct,  the  height  of  the  base  of  the  cloud  in  ques- 
tion will  vary  accordingly,  and  the  law  itself  may  be  accu- 
rately investigated  by  this  method,  for  the  precise  degree 
of  refrigeration  necessary  to  condense  vapor  at  a  particu- 
lar dew  point  is  known,  after  making  an  allowance  for  the 
expansion  of  the  vapor  itself  and  the  fall  of  the  dew  point 
on  this  account.  As  the  discovery  of  a  method  to  ascertain 
by  the  thermometer  the  height  of  a  particular  kind  of  cloud, 
easily  distinguishable  from  all  others,  is  a  matter  highly 
curious  in  itself,  independent  of  its  connexion  with  the 
theory  here  advocated,  it  will  no  doubt  receive  that  imme- 
diate attention  which  it  deserves. 

97.  Since  writing  the  above  a  kite  was  sent  np  into  the 
base  of  a  cloud,  and  its  height  ascertained  by  the  sextant, 
and  compared  with  the  height  calculated  from  the  dew 
point,  allowing  one  hundred  yards  for  every  degree  the 


76  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

dew  point  was  below  the  temperature  of  the  air ;  and  the 
agreement  of  the  two  methods  was  within  the  limits  of  the 
errors  of  observation.  In  this  case  the  base  of  the  cloud 
was  over  twelve  hundred  yards  high. 

Moreover,  the  motions  of  the  kite  whenever  a  forming 
cloud  came  nearly  over  it,  proved  an  upmoving  column  of 
air  under  it.  I  speak  of  cumulus  clouds,  in  the  form  of 
sugar  loaves,  with  flat  bases. 


SECTION  THIRD. 


LABORS    OF    THE   JOINT    COMMITTEE. 

98.  THE  interest  which  was  awakened  on  the  subject  of 
storms  about  this  time,  induced  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  and  the  Franklin  Institute  to  unite  in  forming  a 
Joint  Committee  on  the  subject ;  and  their  principal  labors 
are  given  below. 

CIRCULAR. 

PHILADELPHIA,  Sept.  1834. 

SIR, — At  a  joint  meeting  of  two  committees  appointed, 
one  by  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and  one  by  the 
Committee  of  Science  and  the  Arts  of  the  Franklin  Institute 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  to  confer  together  on  the  best 
means  of  promoting  the  advancement  of  Meteorology,  held 
at  the  hall  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  on  the  evening  of  the 
9th  inst,  it  was  resolved  that  a  sub-committee  be  appointed 
to  furnish  a  project  for  certain  simple  observations,  which 
may  tend  to  elucidate  important  points  in  Meteorology,  and 
which  may  be  at  once  entered  upon,  by  observers  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  our  country,  and  also  to  present  a  form  of  cir- 
cular, to  be  forwarded  to  persons  who  may  be  considered 
competent  to  carry  into  effect  the  above  objects. 

In  conformity  with  this  resolution,  and  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  introduction  of  a  more  extended  plan,  which  the  joint 
committees  are  now  maturing,  the  following  circular  has 
been  prepared,  and  is  forwarded  to  you  by  the  committee. 


78  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  prime  object  of  this  circular  is  to  obtain  a  complete 
knowledge  of  all  the  phenomena  accompanying  one  or  more 
storms  of  rain  or  hail,  not  only  where  the  violence  of  the 
storm  is  felt,  but  at  and  beyond  its  borders,  its  beginning 
and  its  end. 

For  this  purpose  you  are  requested,  immediately  on  re- 
ceiving this  circular,  to  commence  a  journal  of  the  weather, 
noting  the  direction  of  the  wind  at  the  surface  of  the  earth 
and  in  elevated  strata,  as  indicated  by  the  clouds,  which 
may  frequently  be  seen  at  different  elevations,  moving  in 
different  directions ;  the  upper  current  of  all  being  at  Phi- 
ladelphia, generally  from  some  western  point.  Let  the 
strength  and  direction  of  the  wind,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  heavens  as  to  clear  or  cloudy,  and  the  character  of  the 
clouds,  according  to  your  own  mode  of  description,  be  noted 
at  least  three  times  a  day,  as  near  the  following  hours  as 
convenient :  7  A.  M.,  2  P.  M.,  and  sunset.  Let  the  heav- 
ens, however,  be  examined  very  often,  so  that  any  sudden 
change  may  not  pass  unobserved,  especially  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  wind ;  and  when  any  occurs,  let  it  be  noted, 
with  its  time,  under  the  general  head  of  "  Observations." 

The  plan  which  we  recommend  in  observing  slow-mov- 
ing clouds,  is  to  keep  the  head  steady  in  one  place,  with 
the  top  of  a  chimney,  or  some  distant  fixed  object,  between 
the  eye  and  any  remarkable  point  of  the  cloud,  until  this 
point  shall  have  moved  so  far  from  behind  the  object  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  of  its  direction. 

As  to  upper  and  lower  strata,  when  one  passes  under  the 
other,  there  is  an  optical  deception  to  be  guarded  against 
when  the  upper  one  moves  with  the  greatest  angular  velo- 
city. The  deception  may  generally  be  avoided  by  noticing 
which  cloud  is  obscured  by  the  other  as  they  pass.  Some- 
times, also,  an  upper  current  of  air  may  be  detected  when 
there  is  but  one  stratum  of  clouds,  if  these  are  of  the  col- 
umnar snowy -topped  kind,  which  are  frequently  seen  in  a 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  79 

hot  summer  day  :  as  these  clouds  are  frequently  formed  be- 
tween two  currents,  their  tops  will  lean  in  the  direction  of 
the  upper  current,  and,  indeed,  sometimes  be  blown  off  and 
dissipated,  in  a  direction  different  from  the  air  below. 

We  also  particularly  request,  that  if  you  hear  of  any 
storms  occurring  in  your  neighborhood,  you  will  collect  all 
the  information  concerning  them  in  your  power. 

Particularly  inquire  the  course  of  the  wind  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  storm  and  at  its  termination ;  the  width 
of  the  storm  ;  its  direction  ;  its  velocity  ;  the  direction  of  the 
wind  at  its  sides;  how  the  wind  veers  round — whether  in 
different  directions  at  its  sides  or  not ;  whether,  in  case  of 
hail,  there  are  two  veins  or  only  one ;  where  there  is  the 
greatest  fall  of  rain,  near  the  borders  or  near  the  centre  of 
the  slorm  —  and  whether  this  fall  takes  place  near  the  be- 
ginning, middle  or  end  of  the  storm ;  whether  the  clouds 
are  seen  moving  with  the  wind  or  against  it,  and  whether 
differently  among  themselves ;  and  every  thing  else  which 
you  think  may  tend  to  an  explanation  of  this  most  inter- 
esting phenomenon. 

Let  the  time  of  beginning  and  end  of  all  rains  be  particu- 
larly noted,  any  change  in  the  strength  and  direction  of  the 
wind  during  their  progress,  and  the  quantity  as  near  as 
possible.  Mark  the  time  of  meteors,  or  shooting  stars,  and 
auroras,  and  if  possible  the  stars  through  which  they  pass. 
These  observations,  if  made  by  very  many  correspondents 
throughout  the  United  States,  will  elucidate  the  main  object 
which  the  committee  has  in  view  in  the  present  circular, 
and  it  is  hoped  greatly  assist  in  giving  interest  and  value 
to  the  plan  in  contemplation.  But  as  many  observers  may 
be  willing  to  do  more,  we  will  remark  that  the  observations 
on  storms  will  be  much  enhanced  in  value,  if  accompanied 
by  observations  on  the  "  dew  point :"  for  it  may  be,  that 
hurricanes  never  occur  only  when  the  dew  point  is  high. 

A  very  simple  as  well  as  accurate  method  of  taking  the 


80  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

"  dew  point"  is,  to  use  a  thin  tumbler  of  tin,  kept  very 
bright  and  clean  on  the  outside  —  and  in  the  summer  cold 
water,  and  in  the  winter  snow  or  ice,  and  if  necessary  salt, 
mingled  with  water  —  and  when  these  are  not  at  hand,  a 
mixture  of  muriate  of  ammonia  and  nitrate  of  potash,  in 
equal  quantities,  pounded  very  fine,  put  into  the  tumbler 
with  water.  By  any  of  these  means  a  temperature  may 
soon  be  obtained  below  the  "  dew  point."  When  dew  set- 
tles on  the  tumbler  it  must  be  carefully  wiped  off,  very  dry, 
and  the  fluid  within  stirred  with  a  thermometer  —  and  this 
must  be  repeated  until  the  fluid  is  gradually  heated  up  by 
the  air,  so  that  the  moisture  ceases  to  settle :  the  highest 
temperature  at  which  it  will  settle  is  the  "dew  point," 

For  observations  of  the  dew  point  to  be  of  any  value, 
however,  they  must  be  made  constantly,  every  day  at  least 
once  a  day. 

Again,  some  may  be  unwilling  to  take  the  dew  point, 
who  would  be  glad  to  know  it  may  be  obtained,  approxi- 
mately, by  the  following  indirect  method : 

Take  two  thermometers  that  agree,  or  allow  for  the  dif- 
ference—  cover  one  of  them  with  a  wet  white  rag,  and 
swing  them  simultaneously  in  the  air,  (for  it  will  not  do  to 
let  them  be  at  rest,  unless  the  wind  is  blowing  fresh) ;  when 
it  is  discovered  that  they  cease  to  change  by  swinging,  take 
103  times  their  difference,  and  divide  it  by  the  wet  bulb 
temperature,  and  subtract  the  quotient  from  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  naked  bulb  —  the  remainder  will  be  the  dew 
point.  This  formula  is  founded  on  experiments  from  20° 
Fahr.  to  80°,  and  does  not  differ,  at  either  extreme,  from 
the  most  careful  experiments.  We  cannot  refrain  from 
saying,  we  are  sure  that  every  lover  of  the  science  will  be 
richly  rewarded  for  all  the  pains  he  may  bestow  on  the  dew 
point,  even  independent  of  the  results  which  will  undoubt- 
edly be  derived  from  a  comparison  of  these  simultaneous 
observations. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE. 


81 


In  conclusion,  the  committee  request  that,  should  your 
occupations  prevent  you  from  attending  to  the  subject  your- 
self, you  will  find  in  your  vicinity  a  competent  observer  to 
take  your  place. 

Please  to  forward  your  observations  monthly,  to  the 
Joint  Committee  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  and 
Franklin  Institute,  care  of  William  Hamilton,  Actuary  of 
Franklin  Institute,  Philadelphia,  by  mail,  when  a  private 
conveyance  is  not  at  hand. 

JAMES  P.  ESPY,  Chairman  Joint  Committee. 

GOUVERNEUR  EMERSON,  M.  D. 

C.  N.  BANCKER, 
ALEXANDER  D.  BACHE, 

Com.  of  Amer.  Philos.  Soc. 
JAMES  P.  ESPY, 
ALEX.  D.  BACHE, 
H.  D.  ROGERS, 
S.  C.  WALKER, 

P.   B.  GODDARD,  M.  D. 

Com.  of  Franklin  Institute. 


OBSERVATIONS. 


11 


82  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


First  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  American  Phi- 
losophical Society,  and  Franklin  Institute,  on  Meteoro- 
logy. 

99.  The  Joint  Committee  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  and  the  Franklin  Institute  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, return  thanks  for  valuable  meteorological  journals, 
received  from  the  following  gentlemen  : 

Mr.  R.  H.  Gardiner,  Gardiner,  Maine. 

Mr.  Jacob  Mull,  U.  S.  Navy,  Portsmouth,  N.  Hampshire. 

Mr.  James  Porter  Hart,  Farmington,  Mass. 

Professor  Caswell,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Smith,  Middletown,  Conn. 

Mr.  Edward  Gibbons,  Lockport,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  C.  Gill,  Flushing,  Long  Island. 

Dr.  R.  H.  Rose,  Silver  Lake,  Pa. 

Dr.  Henry  Gibbons,  Wilmington,  Del. 

Dr.  G.  S  Sproston,  U.  S.  Navy,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Dr.  J.  M.  Foltz,  U.  S.  Navy,  Washington  city,  D.  C. 

Professor  James  Hamilton,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

Dr.  John  Locke,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Mr.  J.  Panglos,  Urbana,  Ohio. 

Only  four  months  have  elapsed  since  the  reception  of  the 
earliest  of  these  journals,  arid  already  some  valuable  facts 
have  been  deduced  from  a  comparison  of  the  simultaneous 
observations  which  they  contain. 

A  detailed  report  of  all  general  conclusions,  with  the  data 
on  which  they  are  founded,  will  be  given  hereafter ;  but 
as  this  will  require  a  considerable  length  of  time,  and  a 
much  more  extensive  collation  of  journals  than  the  com- 
mittee have  yet  in  their  possession,  they  will  mention,  with 
a  view  to  increase  the  zeal  of  their  correspondents,  one  or 
two  facts,  which,  from  further  observations,  will  probably 
lead  to  important  general  laws. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  83 

In  all  the  great  fluctuations  of  the  barometer  which  oc- 
curred in  January  and  February,  1835,  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
they  were  one  day  sooner  than  at  Philadelphia ;  and  on  the 
22d  of  March,  the  barometer  was  lowest  at  Philadelphia  at 
three  o'clock,  P.  M. ;  whereas,  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  it  con- 
tinued to  fall  till  nine  o'clock,  P.  M.,  as  very  particularly 
noted  by  professor  Caswell.  The  exact  moment  of  greatest 
depression  at  Portsmouth  is  not  given  by  Mr.  Mull,  but  it 
was  lower  there  at  seven  o'clock,  P.  M.,  on  the  23d,  than 
on  the  22d  at  sunset ;  at  which  time  it  had  already  risen 
more  than  half  an  inch  at  Philadelphia. 

Do  these  barometric  fluctuations  of  great  magnitude  travel 
north  eastwardly  ?  l 

Again,  on  the  22d  of  March,  at  the  moment  when  the 
barometer  was  lowest  at  Philadelphia,  the  wind  at  York, 
Pa.,  at  Flushing,  N.  Y.,  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  L,  and  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  was  blowing 
towards  Philadelphia  violently,  especially  at  York  and 
Portsmouth,  while  at  Philadelphia  it  was  a  perfect  calm. 
There  was  also,  on  that  day,  a  very  violent  rain  at  York, 
and  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  and  at  Baltimore,  and  also  a  con- 
siderable rain  at  Flushing,  Middletown,  and  Providence,  at 
the  same  time,  when  there  was  a  calm  in  Philadelphia,  and 
no  rain ;  and  as  this  state  of  things  continued  for  many 
hours,  it  seems  probable  that  the  air,  which  moved  with 
great  rapidity  towards  Philadelphia,  in  opposite  directions, 
must  have  ascended  over  Philadelphia,  and  passed  off  above 
even  with  greater  rapidity  than  it  approached  below,  or 
otherwise  the  barometer  must  have  risen,  in  a  very  short 
time,  to  a  great  height,  by  the  conflicting  impulse  of  these 
two  opposite  currents ;  but  the  barometer  stood  all  this 
time  more  than  three  quarters  of  an  inch  lower  than  usual. 

1  Many  facts  have  come  to  my  knowledge  since,  that  lead  me  to  believe 
that  barometric  fluctuations,  of  great  magnitude  and  extent,  travel  towards  a 
point  a  little  south  of  east.  —  AUTHOR. 


84      •  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  committee  desire  these  remarks  to  be  viewed  as  they 
are  intended,  to  be  confirmed  or  rejected  as  future  observa- 
tions, and  a  more  extensive  induction,  shall  warrant.  They 
merely  propose  the  queries  — 

Are  rains  caused  by  an  upward  motion  of  the  air,  com- 
mencing- where  (he  dew  point  is  highest,  or  where  the  barom- 
eter is  lowest  ? 

Do  storms  in  the  temperate  zones  generally  travel  from 
some  ivesterly  point  ?  And  are  those  storms  which  so  travel 
preceded  by  an  easterly  wind,  and  also  followed  by  a  westerly, 
unless  another  stonn  is  soon  to  come  on  in  the  same  direc- 
tion ?  In  the  torrid  zone,  do  the  storms  on  the  north  side  of 
the  line  travel  towards  the  north  west,  and  on  the  south  side  of 
the  line  towards  the  south  west  ? 

On  the  29th  of  January,  from  eight  o'clock,  A.  M.,  till 
four  o'clock,  P.  M.,  there  fell  at  Nashville,  Tenn..  1.47 
inches  of  rain.  This  storm  travelled  east,  and  it  began  to 
rain  at  Cincinnati  at  half  past  twelve  o'clock,  and  at  Phila- 
delphia at  four  o'clock  next  morning,  the  30th ;  it  rained 
hard  all  day,  terminating  at  seven  o'clock,  P.  M.  During 
this  whole  day,  the  wind  at  Nashville  and  Cincinnati  blew 
towards  Philadelphia,  and  at  Flushing,  Middletown,  Prov- 
idence, and  Portsmouth,  directly  towards  Philadelphia 
also.  This  storm  lasted  eight  hours  at  Nashville,  fifteen 
hours  at  Philadelphia,  twenty-four  hours  at  Flushing,  and 
twenty-seven  hours  at  Portsmouth.  The  wind  set  in  at  all 
these  places  some  hours  before  the  rain  from  the  north  east, 
and  at  the  termination  of  the  rain,  changed  to  the  south 
west ;  and  before  it  ceased  raining  at  Portsmouth,  the  wind 
had  changed  round  by  south  to  west  at  Flushing  and  Phi- 
ladelphia, and  to  the  south  west  at  Middletown. 

Even  one  well  authenticated  case  of  this  kind  goes  far  to 
establish  the  fact  that  the  wind  below  blows  towards  the 
centre  of  a  great  rain.  From  the  time  of  the  middle  of  the 
storm  at  Nashville,  until  the  middle  of  the  storm  at  Phila- 
delphia, was  twenty-three  and  a  half  hours,  and  this  cor- 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  85 

responds  well  with  the  fluctuations  of  the  barometer  men- 
tioned before. 

It  may  be  mentioned,  also,  that,  reckoning  from  middle 
to  middle  of  the  storm,  it  was  thirty  and  a  half  hours  from 
Nashville  to  Middletown,  and  thirty-two  and  a  half  from 
Nashville  to  Portsmouth.  These  all  agree  in  giving  a  velo- 
city to  this  storm  of  about  twenty-six  miles  an  hour.  Is  this 
the  velocity  of  the  upper  current  of  air  at  Philadelphia,  which 
comes  generally  from  a  point  south  of  west  ?  Is  it  this 
zipper  current  which  gives  direction  to  the  storms  in  this  lati- 
tude ? 

Many  instances  have  been  observed  upon  a  momentary 
breaking  of  the  lower  clouds,  in  the  very  middle  of  these 
north  east  storms,  when  the  clouds  above  were  coming  from 
south  west. 

This  storm  had  a  north  east  and  south  west  diameter,  at 
Nashville,  of  about  two  hundred  miles,  gradually  increas- 
ing in  size  until,  at  Portsmouth,  it  was  eight  hundred  miles. 
Its  north  west  and  south  east  diameter  is  unknown.1 

What  are  these  two  diameters  of  storms  generally  ? 

Our  correspondents  will  perceive  that  something  on  this 
subject  is  likely  to  be  discovered  by  a  persevering  course  of 
simultaneous  observations  over  our  wide  extended  conti- 
nent. The  Joint  Committee  which  now  addresses  you  will 
spare  no  means  to  elicit  from  your  observations,  decisive 
answers  to  the  queries  proposed  above,  and,  if  possible,  to 
establish  such  general  laws  as  will  entitle  meteorology  to 
the  name  of  science. 

To  this  end,  it  is  essential  that  the  original  observations, 
and  not  the  mean  of  several,  should  be  communicated,  and 
that  the  number  and  extent  of  our  correspondents  should 
be  increased ;  we  therefore  request  each  one  of  our  corres- 
pondents to  procure  at  least  two  more.  It  would  be  very 

J  Much  more  on  this  subject  is  known  now,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter. 


86  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

desirable  to  have  different  correspondents  at  places  along 
our  northern  frontier,  and  others  on  our  sea-board,  from 
Cape  May  to  Cuba.  Also,  to  have  some  correspondents  in 
the  far  west ;  we  have  none  at  present  further  than  Nash- 
ville. 

The  committee  earnestly  request  that  the  present  oppor- 
tunity of  discovery  may  not  be  lost ;  that  the  undertaking 
may  not  languish  for  want  of  zeal ;  their  correspondents 
may  be  assured,  even  when  the  committee  is  silent,  that 
they  are  constantly  at  their  posts,  waiting  for  the  commu- 
nications with  that  intense  interest  which  always  accom- 
panies sanguine  hopes  of  successful  investigation. 


Second  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Meteorology^  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  and  Franklin  Institute  of 
Pennsylvania,  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Mechanic  Arts. 

100.  In  commencing  this  report  we  have  still  to  regret 
that  the  extent  of  our  correspondence  north  west  and  south 
east  is  not  great  enough  to  enable  us  to  ascertain  the  boun- 
daries of  our  great  storms  in  those  directions;  and  of  course 
we  cannot  determine  the  direction  of  the  winds  in  those 
boundaries  —  a  knowledge  which  we  believe  to  be  of  the 
highest  importance  to  the  science  of  meteorology.  The 
committee  do  not  yet  despair,  however,  of  extending  this 
correspondence  so  far  as  to  attain  so  desirable  an  end, 
and  with  the  hope  of  aiding  this  extension,  proceed  to  give 
an  account  of  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  storms  which 
have  occurred  since  their  first  report. 

These  we  are  sure  will  be  found  to  be  highly  interesting, 
even  with  the  imperfect  knowledge  which  our  limited  cor- 
respondence enables  us  to  give  of  them.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  character  of  some  of  them  varies  from  our  great  north 
east  storms  which  come  from  the  south  west.  They  seem 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  87 

to  have  travelled  southwardly  or  south  eastwardly,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  storms  of  the  14th  and  15th  of  May,  of  the 
20th  of  May  and  19th  of  June,  1835. 

It  is  much  to  be  hoped  that  gentlemen  throughout  the 
country  who  may  see  this  report,  will  communicate  to  us 
any  fact  connected  with  the  storms  here  detailed,  which 
may  either  be  favorable  or  adverse  to  the  generalization 
upon  which  we  have  ventured. 

It  would  be  particularly  desirable  to  know  the  boundaries 
of  the  great  rain  which  took  place  on  the  19th  of  June  to 
the  north  east.  For  this  purpose,  if  gentlemen  living  in 
Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  and  the  north  of  New  York, 
would  consult  their  meteorological  journals,  and  let  us  know 
whether  it  rained  there  at  that  time  or  not,  and  which  way 
the  wind  blew,  they  would  confer  a  great  favor  on  the  com- 
mittee. From  the  nature  of  the  remarks  below,  it  will  be 
understood  what  kind  of  information  is  wanted.  We  hope 
every  gentleman  to  whom  this  is  sent  will  be  induced  to  fur- 
nish a  faithful  correspondent,  who  will  at  least  carefully 
observe  all  storms,  their  beginning  and  ending,  and  the 
course  and  changes  of  the  wind,  during  their  progress. 
The  labor,  though  great,  of  collating  numerous  journals, 
and  deducing  from  them  general  conclusions,  will  be  cheer- 
fully continued  by  the  committee.  These  journals  are 
carefully  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Franklin  Insti- 
tute, and  will  be  accessible  to  any  meteorologist  who  may 
wish  to  consult  them. 

101.  We  now  proceed  to  detail  the  phenomena  attending 
the  most  remarkable  rains  and  storms  which  took  place  be- 
tween the  date  of  our  first  report  and  the  eleventh  of  No- 
vember, 1835  ;  and  to  enable  the  reader  te  comprehend  the 
report  with  greater  ease,  we  recommend  him  to  bear  in 
mind  this  remarkable  generalization  —  In  all  the  seven  storms 
examined,  the  wind  blew  towards  the  point  where  it  was  rain- 
ing. To  this  rule  there  is  not  one  exception;  for  though 


88  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  very  first  storm  mentioned,  that  of  the  26th  of  April, 
terminated  at  Philadelphia,  and  passed  on  to  the  northeast, 
with  the  wind  still  from  the  north  east,  it  appears  plainly 
that  a  much  greater  storm  was  raging  at  that  very  time  at 
no  great  distance  to  the  south  west,  in  the  very  direction  to- 
wards which  the  wind  was  blowing. 

The  storm  of  the  20th  of  May  was  evidently  too  local  in 
its  character  to  form  an  exception.  As  it  is  known,  however, 
that  many  of  our  summer  storms  set  in  with  the  wind  near 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  blowing  from  the  centre  of  the 
storm,  it  becomes  a  question  of  high  importance  to  investi- 
gate the  cause  of  this  difference. 

102.  Storm  of  the  2b£h  and  27th  of  April,  1835.  —  On  the 
night  of  the  25th  and  morning  of  the  26th  of  April,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, there  was  a  great  rain,  with  the  wind  at  north 
east.  At  the  end  of  the  rain  the  wind  continued  from  the 
north  east  with  abated  violence,  being  almost  calm  on  the 
morning  of  the  27th,  with  the  lower  clouds  from  the  W.  N.  W. 
and  the  upper  clouds  from  the  west.  At  three  P.  M.  the 
wind  was  from  the  east,  pretty  fresh.  At  six  P.  M.  a  very 
great  rain  commenced,  which  continued  through  the  night, 
the  wind  changing  round  by  the  north,  and  at  ten  the  next 
morning  it  still  rained  very  hard,  with  the  wind  from  the 
north  west,  and  violent.  The  rain  began  to  abate  at  seven, 
the  wind  still  being  violent  from  the  W.  N.  W.  and  at  eight 
the  rain  ceased,  with  the  wind  W.  N.  W.,  its  violence 
having  a  little  abated.  The  barometer  was  now  rising 
rapidly. 

At  Cape  May,  on  the  night  of  the  27th,  the  wind  was 
violent  from  south. 

At  Baltimore,1  the  rain  was  very  great  on  the  night  of 
the  25th,  and  continued  the  most  of  the  day  of  the  26th. 
The  wind  was  north  east  all  day  on  the  27th.  The  rain 

\ 

1  Our  correspondent  is  Dr.  G.  Sproston,  U.  S.  Navy. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  89 

began  at  three.  P.  M.,  became  heavy  at  four,  and  continued 
so  through  the  night.  On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  the  wind 
was  north  west,  and  scud  and  heavy  cumuli  were  rolling 
off  to  the  south  east.  The  wind  was  west  in  the  afternoon. 

At  Flushing,  Long  Island,  New  York,1  after  the  rain  of 
April  25th  and  26th,  the  wind  continued  north  east,  till  half 
past  two  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  the  27th,  when  it  was  south  west. 
At  six  it  was  south,  and  at  seven  P.  M.  it  changed  suddenly 
to  south  east.  The  rain  commenced  at  nine,  P.  M.,  and 
continued  till  half  past  twelve,  P.  M.,  of  the  28th.  The  wind 
was  very  high.  In  the  morning,  it  was  north  east,  and  at 
noon  north  west,  continuing  so  all  day. 

At  Middletown?  Connecticut,  after  the  rain  of  the  25th 
and  26th,  the  wind  was  variable  till  some  time  on  the  night 
of  the  27th,  when  the  rain  commenced,  and  continued  vio- 
lent. The  wind  was  easterly  till  eleven,  A.  M.,  when  it 
changed  to  south  east,  at  noon  to  south,  and  at  two  P.  M. 
to  west,  the  rain  continuing  with  unabated  violence  all  the 
forenoon.  From  five,  P.  M.,  of  the  26th  till  noon  of  the  27th, 
the  barometer  fell  more  than  an  inch.  The  wind  westerly 
in  the  afternoon. 

At  Brown  University*  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  After 
the  rain  of  the  25th  and  26th,  the  wind  hauled  round  by 
the  north  to  the  north  west,  and  cleared  on  the  evening  of 
the  26th.  On  the  27th,  the  wind  came  round  to  the  east  in 
the  afternoon,  and  the  evening  was  cloudy.  On  the  28th, 
from  three  to  four,  A.  M.,  there  was  a  heavy  blow  from  the 
east,  with  copious  rain;  at  ten,  A.  M.,  the  rain  ceased,  the 
clouds  beginning  to  be  broken,  and  the  wind  violent,  haul- 
ing southerly.  At  one,  P  M.,  the  wind  was  south  west,  very 
heavy  ;  at  four,  P.  M.,  the  wind  was  westerly,  its  violence 


1  Our  correspondent  at  Flushing  is  Mr.  C.  Gill. 

2  Our  correspondent  is  Mr.  A.  W.  Smith. 

3  Our  correspondent  is  Professor  Caswell. 

12 


90  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

had  abated,  and  the  clouds  were  broken.  The  barometer 
began  to  rise.  The  weather  cleared  from  nine  to  ten,  P.  M., 
the  wind  having  abated;  on  the  next  day  the  wind  was 
westerly. 

103.  Storm  of  the  klh  and  5th  of  April,  1835.—  Brown 
University.  Qri  the  3d  of  April,  1835,  there  was  a  great 
rain  in  the  night,  commencing  between  eight  and  nine. 

On  the  4th,  at  sunrise,  the  wind  was  north  east,  but  during 
the  morning  it  hauled  to  the  north  and  north  west ;  towards 
night  swung  back  to  the  north  east,  and  blew  heavily  during 
the  night.  There  was  a  mist,  but  no  rain. 

On  the  5th,  at  sunrise,  the  wind  was  heavy  from  the  north 
east ;  there  was  rain  occasionally  during  the  day.  From 
seven  to  eight  o'clock,  P.  M.,  the  wind  came  round  to  the 
south  west.  The  clouds  had  broken  away  at  nine,  and  the 
sky  was  clear  at  ten. 

6th,  light  shower  at  nine,  P.  M.,  wind  south  west. 

Baltimore,  Maryland.  On  the  3d,  the  wind  was  east,  south 
east  and  east.  There  was  a  light  sprinkling  of  rain  from 
two  to  four,  P.  M.  The  sky  was  overcast  in  the  evening. 

On  the  4th,  the  wind  was  east  in  the  morning,  south  east 
in  the  afternoon,  with  a  sprinkling  of  rain  at  fifty  minutes 
past  ten,  A.  M.,  to  twelve.  The  rain  recommenced  at  nine, 
P.  M.,  with  lightning,  and  continued  with  high  wind  through 
the  night,  turning  to  sleety  snow  at  twenty-five  minutes 
past  nine,  A.  M.,  of  the  5th,  and  terminating  at  fifty  minutes 
past  ten,  A.  M.,  with  the  wind  east.  At  twelve  the  wind 
changed  round  to  the  west,  with  a  heavy  reflux  of  cumuli 
from  the  east.  At  sunset  the  wind  was  south  west,  with 
some  rain ;  starlight  at  ten,  P.  M. 

Philadelphia.  On  the  3d  and  4th,  the  wind  and  lower 
clouds  were  from  the  north  east,  the  upper  clouds  from  the 
south  west,  and  middle  clouds  from  south  west,  with  very 
hard  rain,  commencing  some  time  in  the  night  of  the  4th, 
with  thunder  and  hail ;  continuing  on  the  5th  very  hard, 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  91 

with  wind  E.  N.  E.,  violent  till  half  past  ten,  A.  M.  The 
wind  changing  to  east  at  eleven,  blew  less  violently,  and 
was  S.  S.  E.,  at  one  P.  M.  nearly  calm ;  the  lower  clouds 
south.  The  wind  was  south  at  half  past  three,  P.  M.,  strong 
on  the  6th,  the  wind  moderating  a  little.  The  rain  ceased 
at  noon ;  very  little  in  the  afternoon. 

At  Flushing,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.  On  the  4th,  the 
wind  rose  at  half  past  ten,  P.  M.,  north  east,  having  been 
gentle  in  that  direction  for  two  days.  It  was  very  high  the 
next  morning  in  the  same  direction,  at  a  quarter  past  seven; 
at  quarter  past  twelve  was  very  high  from  the  east;  at  half 
past  three  brisk  from  the  south  east,  and  at  six  high  from 
the  south  west.  Rain  commenced  with  thunder,  at  half  past 
eleven,  A.  M.,  and  with  some  intermission  ended  at  two, 
P.  M. 

At  Baltimore.  On  the  4th  of  May,  at  half  past  three, 
P.  M.,  a  nimbus  rose  from  the  west,  against  a  strong  south 
east  wind ;  it  burst  at  four,  with  thunder  and  lightning, 
and  rained  nine  tenths  of  an  inch. 

104.  Storm  of  May  15th,  1835.— Norfolk,1  Virginia.  On 
the  morning  of  the  15th,  there  was  a  great  rain,  ending 
at  twelve  o'clock.  At  Philadelphia,  all  that  morning  there 
was  a  strong  wind  and  lower  clouds  from  north,  and  upper 
clouds  from  S.  S.  W.,  continuing  till  four,  P.  M.,  when  the 
clouds  disappeared.  During  the  same  morning,  at  Brown 
University,  the  wind  was  north  east ;  with  misty  rain  till 
twelve. 

At  Flushing,  the  same  morning,  the  wind  was  high  from 
the  north  east,  the  lower  clouds  from  the  north  east,  the 
middle  from  the  north,  and  the  upper  from  the  west,  and  at 
Cincinnati,1  Ohio,  south  west. 

This  rain  seemed  to  have  travelled  south,  for  it  ceased  to 
rain  at  Philadelphia  on  the  14th,  at  half  past  twelve  ;  with 

1  From  the  newspapers. 


92  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  wind  changing  from  north  east  to  north,  it  continued  to 
rain  hard  at  Baltimore,  at  three  P.  M.,  and  only  ceased  at 
four.  Or  as  it  rained  a  little  on  the  15th,  at  Brown  Univer-. 
sity,  till  twelve,  did  it  spread  outwards  in  all  directions 
from  some  centre? 

At  Portsmouth,  sharp  lightning  south  east,  at  half  past 
eight,  P.  M. 

Storm  of  the  20th  of  May.  —  This  last  appears  to  be  the 
character  of  a  rain  which  occurred  on  the  20th  of  May,  at 
Silver  Lake,1  Pennsylvania.  On  this  day,  at  one,  P.  M.,  a 
violent  thunder  storm  commenced,  with  hail  from  the  west, 
the  day  having  been  clear  till  that  time. 

At  Farmington,  Connecticut,2  a  violent  storm  commenced 
at  four,  P.  M.,  and  lasted  till  nine. 

At  Flushing,  a  violent  thunder  storm  began  at  five,  and 
lasted  half  an  hour,  preceded  by  a  squall  of  wind  from  the 
west,  the  wind  having  been  all  day  west. 

At  Brown's  University,  a  light  shower,  with  thunder  and 
lightning,  from  six  to  eight,  P.  M.,  wind  south  westerly  all 
day. 

At  Philadelphia,  about  seven,  P.  M.,a  strong  wind  com- 
menced suddenly  from  the  north  west,  it  having  been  pretty 
strong  from  the  S.  S.  W.  all  day;  at  the  same  time  when  the 
wind  began  to  blow  from  the  north  west,  the  lower  clouds 
were  coming  from  the  south  west,  and  the  middle  clouds 
from  the  north  west ;  at  eight  o'clock  it  began  to  rain, 
barometer  rising  .05  of  an  inch  in  an  hour.  There  was 
some  thunder,  but  not  much  rain  till  some  time  in  the 
night. 

At  Baltimore,  it  was  clear  on  the  20th,  at  ten,  P.  M.,  and 
did  not  begin  to  rain  till  late  in  the  night,  and  it  continued 
showering  the  next  day  till  a  quarter  past  nine,  P.  M. 

1  Our  correspondent  is  Dr.  R.  H.  Rose. 

2  Our  correspondent  is  Mr.  James  Porter  Hart. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  93 

105.  Storm  of  July  15th,  1835.  —  At  twelve  o'clock  a  vio- 
lent rain,  with  hail,  commenced  at  Baltimore,  with  the  wind 
north  east,  continuing  till  seven,  P.  M.     The  course  of  the 
wind  in  the  afternoon  not  given,  but  on  the  next  day  it  was 
west ;  on  the  same  afternoon  and  evening  there  fell  tremen- 
dous floods  at  Woodbury,  New  Jersey.  At  five,  P.  M.,  when 
it  was  raining  hard  in  New  Jersey,  the  wind  changed  to 
north  at  Philadelphia,  with  very  dense  black  clouds  coming 
rapidly  from  the  south,  and  at  six  o'clock  a  most  violent 
rain  commenced,  lasting  till  about  eleven,  P.  M.,  with  the 
wind  from  the  north.  During  all  this  time  there  was  a  most 
violent  gale  at  New  York,  from  the  north  east ;  the  rain  com- 
mencing there  at  nine,  P.  M.,  while  at  Washington  City,  the 
wind   continued    all  day  and    the   next   from    the  south 
west,  with  rain  on  the  15th,  at  what  hour  not  mentioned. 
At  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  the  wind  was  north,  with  rain, 
which  is  not  stated  to  have  been  remarkable.     From  the 
phenomena  here  recorded,  it  appears  that  the  wind  below 
at  New  York,    Philadelphia   and   Washington   City,   was 
blowing  towards  a  point  in  New  Jersey,  for  several   hours, 
at  the  same  time  when  it  was  raining  there  most  violently. 
The  same  was  the  case  at  Philadelphia,  at  least  the  clouds 
were  coming  thick  and  dark  above,  from  the  same  point, 
while  the  wind  below  was  going  to  that  point. 

106.  Storm  of  November  llth,  1835.     The  particulars  of 
this  remarkable  storm  will  be  given  hereafter ;  at  present 
we  will  only  say  that  at  Oswego,  in  the  south  east  comer 
of  Lake  Ontario  ;  at  the  Ducks,  in  the  north  east  corner ; 
at  Buffalo,  and  various  other  parts  in  the  south  western 
part  of  that  Lake,  the  wind,  when  it  was  most  violent,  blew 
for  several  hours  towards  a  point  in  the  Lake,  near  the 
eastern  end,  on  the  morning  of  the  llth  of  November,  and 
it  changed  round  by  the  south,  on  south  side  of  the  Lake, 
and  by  north,  on  north  side,  to  westward. 

The  north  west  corner  of  this  Lake  has  not  yet  been 


94  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

heard  from.  Perhaps  some  gentleman  in  Toronto,  or  some 
place  on  the  north  side  of  the  Lake,  will  have  the  goodness, 
on  seeing  this  report,  to  send  us  the  desired  information.1 

107.  Tornado  of  June  l$th,  1835.  On  the  19th  of  June, 
it  rained  all  day  at  Oxford  and  New  York,  with  the  wind 
south  in  the  morning,  south  west  in  the  afternoon. 

North  of  Albany  there  was  a  very  great  rain,  beginning 
ahout  eleven,  A.  M.,  as  we  have  been  informed  by  Mr. 
Guynne,  who  was  travelling  there  that  day,  and  at  Albany 
it  rained  2.45  inches  in  the  afternoon  and  evening;  wind 
south  in  the  morning,  north  in  the  afternoon. 

Brown  University.  June  19th  was  clear  in  the  morning, 
with  the  wind  light  from  the  south  west.  The  wind  fresh- 
ened towards  night ;  the  air  very  damp,  with  heavy  fog 
clouds  from  southerly.  Began  to  rain  from  eight  to  nine, 
P.  M.,  with  wind  very  brisk  from  south  west.  Rain  0.4 
inches. 

Middletown,  Connecticut.  June  19th,  wind  south  all 
day;  very  strong  in  the  evening:  rain  at  noon,  and  a  thun- 
der shower  commenced  at  six,  P.  M.  The  barometer  was 
lowest  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  ;  a  gale  all  the  next  day 
from  the  north  west. 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.  June  19th,  wind  south  at  seven,  A.  M., 
south  east  at  two,  P.  M.,  and  E.  S.  E.  at  sunset.  On 
the  20th,  gale  from  half  past  eight,  A.  M.,  till  half  past  seven, 
P.  M.,  west  by  north,  with  rain  from  seven,  P.  M.,  till  three, 
A.  M.  of  the  21st ;  at  seven,  A.  M.,  of  the  20th,  lower  clouds 
west  by  south,  upper  W.  N.  W. ;  barometer  lowest  on  the 
morning  of  the  20th. 

At  Mr.  Bloomfieltfs,  four  miles  east  from  Piscataway, 
New  Jersey.  June  19th,  about  ten,  P.  M.,  the  wind  began 

1  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  any  thing  more  of  this  storm,  and  a  diagram 
is  merely  given  at  the  end  of  this  report,  showing  the  course  of  the  wind  at 
three  places  where  it  was  very  violent,  with  the  original  documents. 

AUTHOR. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  95 

to  blow  hard  from  the  south  west,  and  increased  in  violence 
till  about  two,  A.  M.,  of  the  20th,  when  it  began  to  abate, 
and  about  dawn  was  nearly  calm  ;  during  all  this  time  very 
black  clouds,  accompanied  with  terrific  lightning,  without 
thunder,  almost  incessant,  were  coming  exactly  against  the 
lower  wind  from  the  north  east,  or  perhaps  a  little  north  of 
that  point,  with  clouds  occasionally  meeting  them,  moving 
with  the  wind,  and  the  interval  between  the  very  black 
clouds  was  so  bright  and  silvery,  that  the  stars  could  hardly 
be  distinguished.  About  sunrise  the  north  east  wind  began 
to  blow,  and  by  eight,  A.  M.,  had  increased  to  a  gale,  per- 
fectly clear;  continuing  violent  till  about  twelve,  M.,  when 
it  began  to  abate,  and  at  two,  P.  M.,  it  had  died  away. 
Next  day  it  was  strong  from  the  south  west. 

19th.  On  this  same  day,  about  five,  P.  M.,  a  violent  land 
spout  took  place  at  New  Brunswick  and  its  vicinity.  It 
appeared  in  form  of  an  inverted  cone  of  smoke,  reaching 
the  ground  with  its  apex,  and  its  base  among  the  clouds; 
it  lasted  only  a  few  moments  in  a  place,  and  progressed 
easterly,  a  little  north,  with  a  slow  motion,  not  more  than 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  an  hour;  it  was  about  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  wide,  and  within  that  breadth  left  neither 
trees  nor  houses  standing ;  all  the  trees  were  thrown  in- 
wards, and  generally  forwards ;  many  of  the  houses  had 
their  walls  prostrated  outwards,  and  the  shingles  were 
thrown  down  in  great  numbers  in  Staten  Island,  along  with 
a  shower  of  hail  and  rain,  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles 
north  east  from  where  they  were  taken  up.  During  the 
fall  of  the  hail,  on  the  north  side  of  the  vein,  the  wind  was 
strong  from  the  south,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  vein, 
the  wind  chopped  suddenly  round  to  the  north,  the  wind 
having  been  south  west  before.  At  the  distance  of  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  the  spout  at  its  passage,  the  wind  was 
not  remarkably  strong. 

In  conclusion,  we  recommend  to  our  correspondents  to 


96  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

observe  and  note  every  phenomenon  which  may  tend  to 
establish  or  refute  the  generalization  to  which  we  turned 
their  attention  at  the  commencement  of  this  report.  It  is 
a  remarkable  fact,  and  altogether  consistent  with  the  gener- 
alization here  spoken  of,  that  all  our  great  storms  which  set 
in  from  some  eastern  point,  terminate  with  the  wind  from 
some  western  point ;  and  our  correspondents  will  recollect 
that  all  the  phenomena  detailed  in  our  first  report  lead  to 
the  same  conclusion.  Among  the  storms  there  detailed,  not 
the  least  remarkable  was  that  on  the  22d  of  March,  1835, 
in  which  there  was  a  perfect  calm  at  Philadelphia  for  several 
hours,  with  an  extremely  low  barometer,  the  sky  was  very 
cloudy,  without  rain,  while  at  the  same  time  there  was  a 
most  violent  rain  all  round  Philadelphia,  with  very  strong 
wind  towards  Philadelphia. 

Was  the  air  at  this  moment  rising  over  Philadelphia  so 
rapidly  as  to  carry  up  the  drops  of  rain  and  throw  them 
off  at  the  sides  of  the  ascending  column  ?  Both  the  rapid 
afflux  of  air  towards  Philadelphia,  at  that  time,  and  the 
extreme  depression  of  the  barometer  there,  lead  strongly  to 
an  affirmative  answer.  How  extremely  interesting  would 
it  be  if  our  correspondence  were  wide  enough  to  trace  these 
storms  to  their  commencement,  and  follow  them  to  their 
termination. 

And  if  our  present  attempt  should  fail  to  stimulate  men 
of  science  to  engage  in  the  undertaking  "of  investigating  the 
dynamical  laws  to  which  the  movements  of  the  atmosphere 
are  subject,  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  simultaneous  ob- 
servations over  a  wide  extent  of  territory,  then  this  com- 
mittee, unless  aided  by  Government,  will  have  to  leave  the 
work  unfinished,  and  reluctantly  close  their  labors,  with 
perhaps  one  more  report. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  97 

Great  Ontario  Storm  of  llth  November,  1835. 

Extract  of  a  letter  dated  Henderson,  P.  O.,  Jefferson  Co.,  Nov.  17. 

«  108.  The  blow  last  week  produced  terrible  effects  on  Lake 
Ontario.  It  looked  like  a  boiling  pot,  as  white  as  a  sheet. 
The  shore  is  strewed  with  broken  pieces  of  vessels ;  hands 
and  passengers  of  more  than  one  vessel  are  known  to  have 
been  lost.  Several  men  from  Henderson  have  been  drown- 
ed. There  was  none  escaped  to  tell  the  news. 

From  the  Kingston  (Upper  Canada)  Chronicle. 

On  Tuesday  morning,  the  10th,  the  steamboat  Cobourg  left 
Toronto  on  her  trip  downward;  the  weather  being  then  quite 
moderate,  she  reached  Cobourg  on  the  evening  of  the  same 
day;  the  weather  still  continuing  the  same,  she  left  Cobourg 
at  ten  o'clock,  but  had  hardly  gone  ten  miles,  when  a  heavy 
gale  from  the  north  east  began  to  blow,  and  continued  to  in- 
crease till  three  o'clock  the  next  morning.  The  wind  then 
suddenly  chopped  round  and  blew  a  perfect  hurricane  from 
the  north  west.  At  four  o'clock  saw  a  schooner  on  her 
beam  ends,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  Ducks,  floating,  it 
was  supposed,  in  fifteen  fathoms  water.  Two  men  were 
seen  clinging  to  the  wreck  ;  one  of  the  sufferers  had  a  stick 
in  his  hand,  at  the  top  of  which  was  attached  a  handker- 
chief, which  he  waved  as  a  signal  of  distress.  The  state  of 
the  weather,  however,  was  such  that  the  Cobourg  could 
render  no  assistance.  The  sea  at  this  time  was  washing 
over  the  decks  of  the  Cobourg  in  every  direction,  and 
breaking  into  the  cabin  through  the  deck  windows.  Capt. 
Paynter  was  therefore  reluctantly  obliged  to  leave  the  un- 
fortunates to  their  fate.  The  schooner,  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  hull,  was  supposed  to  be  the  Ontario,  belonging 
to  Oswego.  A  short  time  afterward  saw  another  schooner 
about  two  miles  from  the  Ducks,  also  afloat  on  her  beam 
ends,  but  no  appearance  of  any  living  creature  was  seen 

13 


98  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

about  her ;  it  was  supposed  all  had  perished.  The  Cobourg 
for  five  hours  suffered  the  extremity  of  the  gale,  during  that 
time  her  bows  were  almost  constantly  buried  in  the  moun- 
tainous sea  which  foamed  around  her,  and  she  shipped  at 
intervals  some  heavy  seas.  On  arriving  opposite  to  Kings- 
ton, where  she  had  to  land  three  cabin  and  fifteen  deck  pas- 
sengers, such  was  the  violence  of  the  storm  that  she  could 
not  possibly  approach  the  port ;  she  therefore  had  to  carry 
them  down  with  her  to  Prescott,  and  land  them  at  Kings- 
ton on  her  return. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Zeno  Allen  to  James  P.  Espy,  dated  Sackett's  Har- 
bor, Jan.  8, 1836. 

Between  twelve  and  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
llth  November,  the  wind  sheered  from  south  to  S.  S.  E., 
and  remained  there  till  about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
when  it  veered  to  S.  S.  W.,  blew  hard  and  commenced  rain- 
ing. The  wind  continued  from  this  point  or  about  south 
west  till  9  P.  M.,  blowing  a  perfect  gale,  with  snow  and  hail. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  C.  J.  Brinkle  to  James  P.  Espy,  dated  Oswego,  Nov. 

27,  1835. 

The  storm  commenced  here  about  nine  o'clock,  P.  M.  of 
10th  inst.,  from  the  south  east,  and  continued  so  till  about 
9  A.  M.  of  the  llth,  when  it  chopped  round  to  the  south 
west.  Capt.  Romans,  of  steamboat  Oswego,  thought  it 
prudent  to  remain  in  port,  the  storm  was  so  severe,  for  it 
became  almost  a  hurricane. 

If  the  reader  will  examine  these  documents  carefully 
with  a  large  map  before  him,  he  will  discover  that  the  wind 
at  Oswego  blew  as  if  there  might  have  been  a  whirl  from 
left  to  right,  and  at  Sackett's  harbor  as  if  from  right  to  left. 
This  storm,  therefore,  was  probably  oblong,  with  its  longest 
diameter  N.  N.  E.  to  S.  S.  W. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE. 


99 


CHART  showing  the  direction  of  the  wind  near  the  centre  of  the  storm,  from 
3  to  6  o'clock,  A.  M.,  of  the  llth  November,  1835. 


No.  1,  The  Ducks.        No.  2,  Sackett's  Harbor.        No.  3,  Oswego. 


CIRCULAR. 

PHILADELPHIA,  June  llth,  1836. 

109.  The  Joint  Committee  "  on  Meteorology,"  appointed 
by  the  American  Philosophical  Society  and  the  Franklin 
Institute  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  Promotion  of  the 
Mechanic  Arts,  being  very  desirous  of  ascertaining  the  boun- 
daries of  the  great  storms  which  traverse  the  United  States, 
and  the  direction  of  the  wind  in  those  boundaries;  take  the 
liberty  of  requesting  you  to  inform  them  when  the  rain  be- 
gan arid  ended  at  your  place  ;  in  what  direction  the  wind 
blew  during  the  rain,  and,  if  possible,  how  and  when  it 
changed ;  whether  it  was  violent  or  gentle,  and  whether 
there  was  much  or  little  rain.  These  questions  relate  par- 
ticularly to  the  great  rain  at  the  end  of  May  and  beginning 
of  June.  But  if  the  same  questions  should  be  answered  as 
to  all  the  storms  which  may  occur  within  the  next  twelve 
months,  by  all  to  whom  this  circular  is  sent,  the  result  can- 
not but  be  highly  interesting. 

This  storm,  which  has  been  so  general  on  our  seaboard, 
began  at  Philadelphia  on  the  26th  of  May,  at  half  past  seven, 
P.  M.  and  ended  on  the  sixth  of  June,  at  three,  P.  M. 


100  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

It  rained  moderately  hard  on  the  nights  of  the  26th  and 
29th  of  May,  and  first  of  June,  and  on  the  afternoon  and 
night  of  the  third,  and  all  day  on  the  sixth,  till  three  o'clock. 
There  was  but  little  rain  on  the  other  days.  The  wind  was 
steady  all  this  time  and  two  days  before,  from  E.  N.  E.  and 
east  by  north  quite  strong  on  the  evening  of  the  26th  and 
morning  of  the  27th ;  all  day  of  the  30th  and  31st,  and  first 
of  June,  and  the  morning  of  the  second,  and  all  day  the 
6th,  till  six  or  seven,  P.  M.,  when  it  died  away  and  turned 
round  to  south  east.  The  wind,  however,  got  back  to  north 
east  again  on  the  seventh,  with  a  shower  at  four,  P.  M.,  and 
did  not  clear  up  till  the  8th,  and  even  then  deep  columnar 
or  pyramidal  clouds  were  seen  forming  to  the  south  east 
and  south,  with  rain  descending  from  their  bases. 

By  order  of  Joint  Committee,  &c. 


THIRD  CIRCULAR  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE  ON  METEOROLOGY. 

PHILADELPHIA,  June  27, 1836. 

110.  The  Joint  Committee  "on  Meteorology,"  appointed 
by  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and  the  Franklin  In- 
stitute of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  promotion  of  the 
Mechanic  Arts,  being  very  desirous  to  ascertain  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  great  storms  of  rain  which  traverse  the  continent 
of  North  America,  as  also  the  direction  of  their  motion  and 
their  velocity,  with  the  direction  and  force  of  the  wind  in 
those  boundaries,  take  the  liberty  of  requesting  you  to  give 
them  the  particulars  of  the  storm  which  has  just  terminated, 
being  the  second  long  easterly  storm  which  has  occurred  here 
this  summer.  When  the  rain  commenced  at  your  place;  in 
what  direction  the  wind  blew  during  the  rain;  and,  if  possible, 
how,  and  when  it  changed ;  whether  it  was  violent  or  gentle, 
and  whether  it  and  the  clouds  moved  in  the  same  direction 
or  not ;  in  what  direction  the  upper  clouds  moved  as  well  as 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  101 

I 

the  lower,  and  whether  there  was  much  or  little  rain.  We 
beg  you  not  to  be  deterred  from  answering  this  communica- 
tion, even  if  you  should  be  enabled  to  answer  only  one  of  the 
questions,  particularly  the  direction  of  the  wind.  As  many 
to  whom  we  shall  send  this  "  circular  "  may  not  be  able  to  an- 
swer these  questions  as  fully  as  might  be  wished,  we  par- 
ticularly request  that  an  answer  may  be  sent  to  similar 
questions  as  to  the  great  equinoctial  storm  which  takes  place 
generally  near  the  20th  of  September  ;  or,  to  ensure  success, 
please  to  extend  your  observations  to  the  middle  of  October. 
If  all  to  whom  this  circular  is  sent  shall  do  as  requested,  we 
are  sure  the  result  will  be  highly  important  to  Meteorology. 
The  north  east  storm,  which  is  the  immediate  object  of  this 
circular,  commenced  at  Philadelphia  on  the  20th  of  June. 
It  was  very  warm  and  nearly  calm  early  in  the  morning, 
wind  south  west,  middle  clouds  southeast,  and  upper  clouds 
west,  having  been  preceded  by  a  very  heavy  shower  from 
the  W.  S.  W.  on  the  afternoon  before,  and  also  a  hard  rain 
with  much  thunder  in  the  evening  from  the  south.  During 
the  morning  of  the  20th  the  wind  changed  round  from  east 
to  E.  N.  E.  and  blew  hard;  it  commenced  raining  at  five 
o'clock,  with  a  strong  wind  from  E.  N.  E.  and  continued 
quite  hard  all  night.  The  wind  moderated  next  day,  but 
continued  about  E.  N.  E.,  moderate,  till  about  six,  P.  M.,  of 
the  27th,  when  it  changed  round  to  N.  N.  E.  and  cleared 
suddenly.  The  rain  ceased  at  six,  A.  M.,  of  the  same  day, 
having  rained  hard  for  sometime  in  the  night  of  the  25th, 
till  the  morning  of  the  27th  ;  the  wind  was  very  gentle  on 
the  26th,  when  it  rained  hard  all  the  afternoon. 

There  was  but  little  rain  from  the  morning  of  the  21st 
till  the  night  of  the  25th,  except  on  the  23d  from  three  till 
six,  P.  M . 

On  the  22d,  23d,  24th,  25th  and  27th,  the  lower  clouds 
broke  away  two  or  three  times,  and  through  the  breaks  the 
upper  clouds  were  seen  coming  slowly  from  the  south  west, 


102  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

not  very  thick.  It  was  calm  on  the  afternoon  of  the  27th 
after  it  cleared  up.  The  wind,  however,  changed  to  north 
west  by  the  north.  By  order  of  the  Joint  Committee,  &c. 


Third  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Meteorology  of 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and  the  Franklin 
Institute  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  Promotion 
of  the  Mechanic  Arts. 

111.  In  our  two  previous  reports  we  gave  an  account  of 
nine  storms,  in  all  of  which  the  wind  blew  towards  the 
storm  in  its  borders. 

Two  very  remarkable  storms  have  occurred  since ;  one 
commenced  on  the  23d  of  May,  and  continued  to  the  7th  of 
June;  the  other  occurred  on  the  night  of  the  19th  and  the 
day  of  the  20th  of  June.  Immediately  after  the  termina- 
tion of  these  storms,  the  committee  addressed  circulars  to  a 
great  many  individuals  throughout  the  United  States,  re- 
questing an  account  of  them,  particularly  with  regard  to 
the  rain,  and  the  strength  and  direction  of  the  wind.  Our 
inquiries  were  not  in  vain.  We  received  very  satisfactory 
replies  from  many  in  the  region  of  the  storms,  and  beyond 
their  boundaries.  It  would  be  highly  desirable  to  give  the 
documents  to  the  public,  entire,  but  our  present  means  will 
not  permit. 

It  is  hoped  that  when  government  shall  become  acquaint- 
ed with  the  important  discoveries  already  made,  and  the 
absolute  necessity  of  combined  and  simultaneous  exertions, 
beyond  the  reach  of  individuals,  their  liberality  will  be 
cheerfully  extended  to  the  promotion  of  this  science,  in  our 
widely  extended  country. 

In  the  mean  time,  we  must  content  ourselves  by  giving  a 
few  general  results,  as  we  did  in  our  previous  reports. 

In  the  first  place,  we  remark  a  very  striking  difference 
between  the  first  of  the  two  storms  mentioned  above,  and 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  103 

all  the  winter  storms  investigated  before  in  our  reports ;  all 
the  winter  storms,  as  well  as  the  tornadoes  or  land  spouts 
in  the  summer,  seem  to  travel  from  a  point  south  of  west, 
while  this  long-continued  storm  was  nearly  stationary, 
inclining,  indeed,  a  little  towards  the  south  west,  as  it  con- 
tinued to  rain  in  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina,  some 
days  after  it  ceased  at  Philadelphia.  The  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains seem  to  have  been  near  the  centre  of  the  rain,  extend- 
ing from  the  western  parts  of  New  York  to  South  Carolina. 
The  rain  was  copious  as  far  west  as  Cincinnati  and  Lex- 
ington, Ky.,  and  as  far  east  as  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
hardly  reaching  Illinois,  and  extending  but  little  way  into 
the  Atlantic,  and  not  prevailing  much  as  far  north  east  as 
Massachusetts. 

Now,  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  New  York,  the 
wind  was  constantly  blowing  from  the  north  east  during 
the  whole  period  of  the  storm.  In  Charleston,  S.  C.,  con- 
stantly from  the  south  and  south  east.  In  the  interior 
parts  of  the  storm,  the  wind  was  variable ;  the  prevailing 
winds,  however,  in  the  northern  parts  of  Ohio  being  from 
the  north,  in  Illinois  from  the  west,  and  in  Alabama  there 
seems  to  have  been  nothing  remarkable;  no  north  east 
storm  occurred,  but  the  direction  of  the  wind  is  not  given. 

It  also  appears  by  the  log  books  of  several  masters  of 
vessels  who  left  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  about  the  beginning 
of  this  storm,  and  arrived  at  Philadelphia  about  the  end  of 
it,  that  they  had  the  wind  constantly  from  the  south  west 
and  south  and  south  east  fresh  the  whole  way,  gradually 
passing  the  south  and  nearing  the  east  as  they  approached 
to  Philadelphia. 

Thus  it  appears  that  on  the  north  east  and  east,  south 
and  south  west,  the  wind  was  constant,  for  at  least  fourteen 
days  towards  a  great  rain,  and  that  on  the  other  part  of  the 
circle,  even  within  the  boundaries  of  the  rain,  the  wind, 
though  variable,  prevailed  in  a  direction  towards  the  centre 
of  the  storm. 


104  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

In  this  storm  then,  as  in  the  nine  investigated  before,  the 
wind  blew  towards  the  centre,  and  consequently  upwards 
in  the  middle  —  and  outwards  above  —  at  least  in  Massachu- 
setts. Mr.  Daniel  C.  Sanders,  of  Medfield,  seventeen  miles 
south  west  of  Boston,  says  :  "often  there  were  three  strata 
of  clouds,  the  upper  one  very  high,  moving  from  the  west, 
nearly  opposite  to  the  lower  stratum.  The  middle  one 
was  very  changeable  in  its  direction." 

And  also  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  Mr.  Jonathan  Hunt 
says  ;  "  In  almost  all  violent  storms  from  the  east,  there  is 
an  upper  current  from  the  west." 

There  is  therefore  the  strongest  reason  to  believe  that 
rain  is  caused  by  the  cooling  produced  by  the  rarefac- 
tion of  the  air  in  its  upward  motion  in  the  centre  of  the 
storm. 

112.  The  storm  which  commenced  on  the  night  of  the 
19th  June,  is  not  less  remarkable  than  the  one  just  describ- 
ed. It  seems  also  to  have  travelled  south  or  south  west, 
for  on  the  night  of  the  19th,  and  the  next  day,  the  rain  was 
greatest  at  Silver  Lake,  in  the  northern  part  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  on  the  night  of  the  20th,  and  the  next  day,  it  was 
greatest  at  Baltimore,  and  it  did  not  reach  Hawsburg,  Rap- 
pahannock  county,  Va.,  till  the  21st,  when  it  rained  very 
heavily,  the  wind  having  veered  round  to  the  north  east. 
At  Staunton,  Va.,  it  was  clear  all  day  the  21st  and  22d,  till 
evening,  and  the  north  east  storm  did  not  set  in  till  the 
24th. 

In  the  wood  cut  we  have  given  the  direction  of  the  wind 
by  means  of  arrows  at  all  the  places  from  which  we  have 
any  accounts.  On  the  20th  of  June,  there  fell  nearly  three 
inches  of  rain,  including  that  of  the  preceding  night,  at 
Silver  Lake.  Much  more  rain  fell  here  than  at  any  of  the 
surrounding  places  of  observation.  There  was  but  little  at 
Foxburg,  Gettysburg,  and  Harrisburg,  and  it  did  not 
commence  at  Baltimore  till  half  past  seven  o'clock,  P.  M., 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE. 


105 


nor  at  Emmettsburg  till  four  o'clock,  P.  M.,  nor  at  Philadel- 
phia till  ten  minutes  past  five  o'clock,  P.  M. 


^Boston  »4 


By  casting  the  eye  on  the  wood  cut,  it  will  be  seen  at  a 
glance  that  the  wind  blew  on  all  sides  towards  the  point  of 
greatest  rain. 

But  what  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  the  wind  was  much 
more  violent  all  round  the  borders  of  the  storm,  than  near 
the  centre.1  At  Harrisburg  and  Gettysburg  it  was  gentle, 
and  at  Emmettsburg  it  was  tempestuous.  It  is  true  it  did 
not  begin  to  be  tempestuous  till  four  o'clockj  P.  M.,  and  at 
Philadelphia  it  did  not  begin  to  blow  very  hard  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  till  about  eleven,  A.  M.  At  seven,  A.  M., 
it  was  very  calm,  though  the  low  clouds  were  flying  with 
great  velocity  from  the  south  east,  exactly  towards  the 
region  of  the  great  rain. 


1  It  has  since  been  ascertained  that  during  the  day  of  the  20th,  the  wind  at 
Silver  Lake  was  so  variable  that  it  was  difficult  to  know  from  what  point  it 


prevailed  most. 


14 


106  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  particular  remark,  that  the  wind  at 
Emmettsburg  was  north  west  on  the  21st,  blowing  towards 
a  region  where  it  rained  that  morning  and  the  preceding 
night,  so  much  as  to  do  great  mischief,  and  even  as  near 
to  Emmettsburg  as  Baltimore,  it  rained  in  that  time  1.7 
inches. 

This  rain  reached  Emmettsburg,  but  was  small  in  quan- 
tity, viz.  j2^  of  an  inch.  The  wind  on  this  day,  at  Balti- 
more, varied  from  south  east  to  north  east.  It  was,  there- 
fore, part  of  the  time,  exactly  opposite  to  the  wind  at 
Emmettsburg. 

Another  remarkable  feature  of  this  storm  is,  that  it  was 
preceded  the  day  before  with  thunder  gusts,  on  the  north  east, 
north  and  west,  and  probably  on  the  south  east,  as  the  tem- 
perature fell  very  suddenly  at  Philadelphia,  as  soon  as  the 
wind  changed  to  south  east,  about  eleven,  A.  M.  The  sudden 
depression  of  temperature  can  hardly  be  accounted  for,  ex- 
cept on  the  supposition  that  a  thunder  storm  took  place 
during  the  preceding  night,  south  east  of  Philadelphia. 
The  temperature  had  not  changed  at  Harrisburg,  at  one, 
P.  M.,  nor  at  Emmettsburg  at  half  past  two,  where  the 
wind  continued  all  day  from  the  south  west. 

Besides  these  two  storms,  we  may  mention  one  which 
took  place  on  the  night  of  the  10th  March,  1836.  The 
centre  of  greatest  rain  appears  to  have  been  at  Providence, 
R.  I.,  where  it  began  at  six,  P.  M.,  and  rained  most  vio- 
lently till  twelve  at  night.  The  papers  of  the  day  give 
accounts  of  great  damage  done  by  the  floods  near  Provi- 
dence ;  and  they  state  that  the  wind  sprang  up  and  blew 
violently  from  the  south  east,  at  Bristol,  R.  I.,  some  time  in 
the  evening,  and  raged  from  that  quarter  till  five  next 
morning,  and  then  changed  round  to  south  west,  and  con- 
tinued strong. 

At  Flushing,  Long  Island,  the  wind  was  almost  calm  at 
three  quarters  past  five,  P.  M.,  but  about  seven  it  rose  from 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  107 

south  west,  and  blew  hard  all  night,  and  till  ten  next  morn- 
ing. At  Philadelphia  it  was  very  calm  and  foggy  all  the 
evening,  till  about  eleven,  when  the  wind  rose  suddenly 
and  violently  from  the  south  west,  and  blew  a  hurricane 
nearly  all  night,  changing  round  to  north  west  at  four  next 
morning.  It  is  worthy  of  particular  remark,  that  at  Flush- 
ing the  wind  began  to  blow  towards  the  point  of  greatest 
rain  about  four  hours  sooner  than  it  did  at  Philadelphia, 
about  one  hundred  miles  more  distant  from  the  centre  of 
the  storm.  This  is  in  remarkable  accordance  with  the 
fact  detailed  above,  concerning  the  time  the  wind  set  in 
at  Philadelphia  from  the  south  east  on  the  morning  of  the 
20th  June,  towards  a  very  great  rain  which  had  been  going 
on  then  for  eleven  or  twelve  hours  at  Silver  Lake,  and  in 
that  vicinity. 

113.  From  all  these  facts,  in  connexion  with  those  de- 
tailed in  our  previous  reports,  it  is,  we  think,  abundantly 
proved,  that  the  air  moves  inwards  towards  the  centre  of 
great  rains,  and  consequently  upward  in  the  region  of  the 
cloud.  Nor  is  this  inward  motion  difficult  to  account  for. 
It  has  been  long  known  that  the  barometer  stands  low  in 
the  middle  of  great  storms,  and  nothing  is  more  plain  than 
that  the  air  will  run  on  all  sides  towards  the  point  where 
the  barometer  stands  lowest,  with  a  velocity  proportional 
to  the  square  root  of  the  depression.  And  as  this  air  mounts 
upwards  over  the  point  where  the  barometer  stands  lowest, 
a  condensation  of  the  vapor  must  take  place  from  the  cold 
produced  by  diminishing  pressure  as  it  ascends.  Now,  the 
chairman  of  this  committee  has  shown  by  calculation  from 
acknowledged  data,  that  for  every  pint  of  water  which  is 
formed  by  condensation  of  vapor,  the  cloud  itself  is  expand- 
ed seven  thousand  six  hundred  pints  by  the  latent  caloric 
given  out  at  the  moment  of  condensation.  Thus  will  the 
upward  motion  in  the  cloud  be  continued  as  long  as  air 
highly  charged  with  vapor  runs  in  below. 


108  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

It  is  also  easy  to  explain  why  the  base  of  the  cloud,  dur- 
ing this  rapid  motion  of  the  air  upwards,  remains  nearly  at 
the  same  level.  For  so  long  as  the  dew  point  of  the  air  at 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  which  supplies  the  ascending 
column  with  vapor,  remains  the  same,  if  the  temperature 
of  the  air  is  the  same  also,  it  will  have  to  ascend  to  the 
same  height,  before  cold  enough  is  produced  by  expansion 
to  cause  condensation  of  the  vapor.  This  height  is  found 
to  be  about  one  hundred  yards  for  every  degree  between 
the  temperature  of  the  air  and  the  dew  point,  unless  when 
the  cloud  becomes  of  great  perpendicular  depth,  when  the 
base  sinks  a  little  from  the  levity  of  the  cloud. 

The  quantity  of  depression  of  the  vapor  as  well  as  of  the 
air,  after  due  allowance  is  made  for  the  fall  of  the  dew 
point  from  the  expansion,  is  nearly  four  hundred  yards  for 
a  depression  of  the  barometer  one  inch,  on  the  supposition 
that  the  temperature  of  the  air  sinks  4°  for  a  diminution  of 
pressure  equal  to  an  inch  of  mercury. 

A  depression  of  near  two  and  a  half  inches  has  been  re- 
corded in  a  spout  accompanied  with  hail  nine  inches  deep  ; 
hence  the  base  of  the  cloud  would  descend  in  the  centre 
near  one  thousand  yards ;  and  of  course,  if  the  dew  point 
and  temperature  of  the  air  were  not  more  than  10°  degrees 
apart,  the  cloud  would  reach  the  earth,  and  exhibit  itself  in 
the  form  of  an  inverted  cone,  expanding  as  it  goes  up,  and 
by  its  rapid  motion  carrying  up  large  "drops  of  rain  above 
the  region  of  perpetual  congelation,  and  throwing  them  out 
at  the  sides  in  the  form  of  hail. 

From  the  principles  here  developed,  it  will  be  easy,  when 
a  great  storm  springs  up,  or  comes  within  disturbing  influ- 
ence, to  tell  in  what  direction  it  is  raging ;  for  the  direction 
of  the  wind  points  it  out.1  The  connection  also  between 
volcanoes  and  rains  is  no  longer  mysterious  •  for  an  upward 

1  An  exception  to  the  general  principle  of  wind  blowing  towards  the  rain, 
was  mentioned  and  explained  in  article  33. 


LABORS   OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  109 

motion  of  the  air  is  produced  and  kept  up  by  the  volcano, 
the  result  of  which  must  be  a  condensation  of  vapor,  un- 
less the  dew  point  is  very  low.  So  powerful  is  this  ten- 
dency, that  in  South  America  a  dry  season  is  sometimes 
changed  into  a  rainy  one,  by  the  bursting  out  of  a  volcano. 
From  these  brief  hints,  we  trust  it  will  be  acknowledged 
that  something  has  been  gained  explanatory  of  the  pheno- 
mena in  question.  But  we  must  not  stop  here ;  it  is  not 
enough  to  know  where  it  is  raining  at  a  given  time,  we 
must  know  when  it  will  rain  where  we  are.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  is  of  primary  importance  to  know  the  direction  in 
which  storms  move,  and  also  their  velocity  in  all  the  differ- 
ent seasons  of  the  year. 

We  would  suggest,  as  the  most  effectual,  and  perhaps  the 
only,  means  of  obtaining  this  end,  an  appropriation  by  gov- 
ernment for  the  purchase  of  meteorological  instruments,  to 
be  presented  to  those  academies,  schools,  and  colleges,  that 
would  pledge  themselves  to  keep  a  journal  of  the  weather, 
according  to  a  prescribed  plan,  for  five  years  ;  and  send  a 
monthly  statement  to  a  meteorologist,  to  be  appointed  by 
the  government.  If  instruments  were  thus  furnished  for 
one  hundred  observers,  it  is  altogether  probable  two  hun- 
dred more  would  volunteer  their  services,  knowing  that  their 
labors  would  be  one  hundred  fold  more  valuable  in  combi- 
nation Avith  others  than  they  had  hitherto  been. 

With  three  hundred  observers,  properly  located,  no  storm 
could  spring  up  within,  or  enter  the  United  States,  without 
being  constantly  under  the  eye  of  at  least  two  observers. 
And  thus  its  extent,  its  progress,  and  the  direction  of  the 
wind  in  its  borders,  would  be  fully  known.  Until  this  shall 
have  been  effected  by  government,  we  entreat  every  gentle- 
man to  whom  the  report  is  sent,  to  consider  it  a  patriotic 
duty  to  furnish  the  means  of  enabling  at  least  one  faithful 
observer  of  the  weather,  to  transmit  a  series  of  observations 
monthly,  to  William'.Hamilton,  Esq.,  Actuary  of  the  Frank- 
lin Institute,  Philadelphia. 


110  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

In  closing  this  report,  the  committee  tender  their  best 
thanks  to  the  numerous  correspondents  who  have  favored 
them  with  regular  records  of  the  weather,  and  also  to  such 
as  have  returned  answers  to  their  interrogatories. 

JAMES  P.  ESPY,  for  Joint  Committee. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Meteorology  to  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  embodying  the  facts 
collated  by  the  Meteorologist  relative  to  the  storm  of  the 
17th,  and  ISth  March,  1838. 


114.  As  the  great  storm  immediately  preceding  the  vernal 
equinox  of  the  present  year  was  one  of  that  class  which  is 
supposed  to  stretch  over  a  wide  extent  of  territory,  and  to 
traverse  the  globe  with  a  determinate  direction  and  velocity, 
it  was  believed  that  an  accurate  knowledge  of  its  progress 
and  violence  at  different  points  would  not  only  prove  highly 
interesting  to  the  cultivators  of  meteorological  knowledge, 
but  would  also  tend  much  to  the  promotion  of  the  object  for 
which  the  committee  was  appointed  ;  with  this  view  the 
late  Joint  Committee  on  Meteorology,  of  the  American  Phi- 
losophical Society  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  issued  two 
hundred  and  fifty  circulars  to  different  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  to  Canada,  asking  for  information  on  the  various 
phenomena  exhibited  by  the  storm  in  the  respective  vi- 
cinities. 

That  the  persons  addressed  might  know  the  precise  ob- 
jects which  the  committee  had  in  view,  it  was  stated  in  the 
circulars,  that  the  committee  regarded  it  as  highly  important 
to  ascertain  the  phases  of  the  great  storms  of  rain  and  snow 
which  traverse  our  continent,  their  shape  and  size,  what^di- 
rection,  and  with  what  velocity  their  centres  move  along 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  whether  they  are  round,  oblong,  or 
irregular,  in  their  shape,  whether  they  move  in  different 
directions  in  the  different  seasons  of  the  year,  &c.  &c. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JO1JNT  COMMITTEE.  Ill 

To  this  circular  between  forty  and  fifty  answers  have 
been  received,  furnishing  a  mass  of  information  highly  use- 
ful and  interesting. 

These  communications  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
meteorologist  for  collation,  which  duty  he  has  performed,  as 
will  be  seen  by  his  report  annexed. 

ROBLEY  DUNGLISON,  M.  D. 

ALEXANDER  D.  BACHE, 
JAMES  P.  ESPY, 
CHARLES  N.  BANCKER, 
JOHN  K.  KANE, 
HENRY  D.  ROGERS, 
SEARS  C.  WALKER, 
R.  M.  PATTERSON,  M.  D. 
JOHN  C.  CRESSON, 

GOUVERNEUR  EMERSON,  M.  D. 

Committee  on  Meteorology. 
Philadelphia,  July  9th,  1838. 


To  the  Committee  on  Meteorology  of  the  Franklin  Institute. 
115.  GENTLEMEN,  —  The  following  facts  comprise  some  of 
the  most  important  details  collected  from  the  various  cor- 
respondents. These,  with  additions  from  other  sources,  are 
arranged  and  numbered  so  as  to  commence  in  the  west- 
ward, and  progress  towards  the  eastward. 

1.  Franklin,  La.  (S.  W.  of  New  Orleans)  29°  50'  N.  91°  50'  W.      (From  our 
regular  correspondent,  a  lady.) 

Beyond  the  storm.  On  the  16th,  17th,  18th  and  19th  of 
March,  the  wind  was  constantly  from  the  N.  high  in  the 
mornings,  light  in  the  evenings,  except  the  19th,  when  it 
was  light  in  the  morning.  Clear  from  the  14th  till  the  af- 
ternoon of  the  22d.  Slight  frost  on  the  18th  and  19th. 
Barometer  rose  from  the  16th  30.20,  till  the  17th  30.30,  and 
remained  at  that  till  the  20th,  when  it  fell  again  to  30.20. 


112  PHILOSOPHY  OF   STORMS. 

2.  U.  S.  Hospital,  Baton  Rouge,  La.  30°  29'  N.  91°  27'  W.    Observed  by  W. 

R.  HEIFERS,  and  communicated  by  A.  WADDEIR,  Esq. 

There  was  no  storm  here  on  the  16th  and  17th  of  March, 
which  were  clear,  fine  days,  wind  strong  from  N.  E.  18th 
fine,  clear  day,  frost,  wind  light,  N.  W.  19th  wind  N.  W. 
strong,  cloudy. 

3.  Natchez,  Miss.,  36°  34'  N.  91°  25'  W.     (From  our  regular  correspondent, 

HENRY  TOOLEY,  Esq.) 

16th  hazy,  but  without  a  cloud,  wind  N.        236 
•17th  hazy,  very  clear  "  N.  W.    2     3    4    2 

18th  not  a  stain  on  the  ethereal  blue  "  N.          2    W   1 
19th  thick  haze,  "  S.  2  SW.  2     1 

Barometer  on  the  16th    29.91 

17th    30.03 

18th     30.05 

19th    29.95 

4.  Jackson,  Miss.,  32°  23'  N.  90°  8'  W.     (Communicated  by  the  Postmaster.) 

There  was  no  rain  here  from  the  llth  of  March  till  April. 
16th,  wind's  direction  and  force,  N.     2    6     3 

17th,         "  "  "  NW.  2342 

18th,         "  "  «  N.    2   W    1 

19th,         "  "  "  S.    2  SW.  1 

( 

5.  U.  S.  frigate  Constellation,  Pensacola  Bay,  lat.  30°  23'  40"  N.,  long.  87°  12 
W.     (Observed  by  Dr.  HULSE,  and  communicated  by  J.  H.  C.  COFFIN, 

Esq.) 

This  place  was  beyond  the  borders  of  the  storm.  On 
the  16th,  17th,  and  18th  of  March,  the  wind  was  from  W. 
N.  W.  to  N.  and  N.  W.  constantly ;  generally  moderate 
weather ;  clear,  with  haze  in  horizon. 

On  the  19th  the  wind  was  N.  W.  till  noon,  changeable 
P.  M.  to  southwardly. 

6.  Huntsville,  Alabama,  34°  3&  N.  86°  57'  W.     (From  JOHN  ALLAN,  Esq.; 

We  had  no  storm  here  at  the  time  mentioned.    On  the 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT   COMMITTEE.  113 

15th,  16th,  17th  and  18th  of  March,  the  wind  was  moderate 
from  the  N.  W.  Weather  cloudy,  with  the  exception  of  the 
18th,  which  was  clear.  On  the  19th  the  wind  in  the  morn- 
ing was  a  stiff  breeze  S.  E.,  the  remaining  part  of  the  day 
S.W. 

7.  Nashville,  Tenn.,  36°  10'  N.  86°  49'  W.     (From  our  regular  correspondent, 
MORGAN  W.  BROWN,  Esq.) 

March  14th,  some  rain,  with  change  of  wind  from  S.  and 
and  S.  W.  to  N.  W. 

15th,  cloudy,  clouds  passing  from  N.  with  moderate 
wind. 

16th,  cloudy,  with  slow  rain  in  forenoon,  arid  occasional 
showers  in  the  afternoon,  mixed  with  sleet ;  clouds  passing 
from  N.  W.  with  brisk  wind  ;  becoming  colder. 

17th,  clouds  passing  from  N.  W.  and  N.,  with  brisk  wind 
from  N.  W.,  partially  clear  at  sunset  and  after  night. 

18th,  clear,  except  cirri  to  E.  in  the  morning,  which  soon 
passed  off  in  that  direction;  wind  brisk  throughout  the  day 
N.  W.;  calm  at  night 

8.  Grayville,  Illinois.     (From  JAMES  GRAY,  Esq.) 

The  weather  here  on  the  16th,  17th,  18th  and  19th,  was 
good,  except  that  there  may  have  been  a  little  rain.  The 
wind  was,  during  that  time,  too  gentle  to  be  observed,  and 
therefore  I  cannot  say  from  what  quarter  it  came. 

9.  Warren  Court  House,  Illinois,  on  the  Mississippi  river,  pretty  high  up, 

40°  5(X  N.  90°  50'  W.     (From  DANIEL  McNEiLV,  Esq.,  P.  M.) 

We  had  no  storm  here.  The  sky  was  remarkably  clear, 
and  fine  weather  on  the  days  mentioned,  if  our  memory 
serves  us.  On  the  night  of  the  15th  we  had  a  little  snow, 
and  for  a  few  days  after  a  light  wind  from  N.  W. 

10.  Logansport,  Ind.  (near  northern  part  of  the  state,)  40°  53'  N.  86°  22'  W. 

(From  D.  D.  PRATT,  Esq.) 

On  the  16th,  17th,  18th  and  19th  of  March,  the  weather 

15 


114  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

here  was  remarkably  fine  and  warm,  and  continued  so  till 
the  8th  of  April. 

I  recollect,  however,  on  the  night  of  the  15th,  and  dur- 
ing the  forenoon  of  the  16th,  a  heavy  damp  snow  fell  to  the 
depth  of  several  inches,  accompanied  with  a  strong  wind. 
I  was  riding  down  the  Wabash  in  a  direction  a  little  south 
of  west,  and  I  think  the  wind  was  blowing  nearly  in  my 
face.  It  might  have  been  from  a  point  25°  or  30°  south  of 
west. 

11.  Elizabethville,  Harrison  county,  Ind.     (From  E.  H.  COMPTON,  Esq.,  ob- 

served by  JOHN  Low,  Esq.) 

March  16th,  got  up  before  sunrise,  found  a  rainy  morn- 
ing, which  early  in  the  day  changed  to  snow,  and  was  at- 
tended with  the  severest  storm  felt  here  this  season.  The 
snow,  notwithstanding  the  dampness  of  the  ground,  fell 
three  or  four  inches  deep.  The  storm  continued  till  I  went 
to  bed,  at  8,  P.  M. ;  wind  from  the  N.  N.  W.,  the  point  from 
which  it  blew  all  day. 

17th,  left  my  bed  at  day-break,  found  it  still  cloudy,  with 
considerable  wind.  It  was  partially  clear  through  the  day, 
and  the  wind  came  round  to  N.  N.  E. 

18th,  at  day-break,  found  it  clear,  but  somewhat  cold ; 
moderated,  became  pleasant,  and  remained  so  all  day,  and 
•  wind  changed  to  E.  S.  E.,  quite  calm. 

12.  Lexington,  Ky.,  38°  6'  N.  84°  18'  W.      (From  our  correspondent,  Prof. 

ROBERT  PETER.) 

Bar.        Bar.        Bar.  Therm. 

16th,  29.02  28.97  29.00   45°  41°  36°  Rain,  sleet,  wind  very 

high  in  the  night  N.  W. 
17th,  28.86  29.00  29.02  30    34    36    Snow,  windy,   north 

winds  at  night. 

18th,  29.01  29.02  29.02   36    50    40    Clear,  more  clear. 
19th,  28.98  28.88  28.85   40    65    57    Hazy,  clear. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  115 

Rain  0.05  on  night  of  the  15th. 
"    0.40  on         "  16th. 

"    0.10  on         "  17th. 

Whole  amount  0.55  of  an  inch. 

The  windj  if  my  recollection  serves  me,  was  at  its  height 
on  the  night  of  the  16th,  N.  W.,  and  was  still  high  on  the 
17th,  N. 

13.  Wilmington,  O.  (a  little  north  from  Cincinnati,)  39°  30'  N.  84°  53'  W. 

(From  A.  JONES,  M.  D.,  by  Hon.  P.  G.  GOODE.) 

It  commenced  raining  at  noon  on  the  13th  of  March,  and 
continued  rainy  until  noon  of  the  16th,  at  which  time  it 
snowed  and  rained  alternately.  But  a  small  quantity  of 
rain  fell.  On  the  17th,  snow  from  a  half  to  one  inch  deep. 
The  wind  on  the  16th,  17th,  18th  and  19th,  was  N.  W.,  and 
a  good  part  of  the  time  a  strong  current.  On  the  17th  and 
18th,  very  strong  current  NW.  W.  The  morning  of  the  18th 
was  clear,  and  continued  so  till  the  23d,  at  night,  when  there 
was  a  slight  rain. 

Troy,  O.  (80  or  90  miles  N.  of  Cincinnati.)      (From  JOHN  G.  TALFORD,  Esq.) 

On  the  night  of  the  16th  of  March,  and  also  on  the  night 
of  the  17th,  we  had  a  slight  fall  of  rain  and  snow  (mixed). 
The  18th  was  a  clear,  warm,  and  pleasant  day,  and  I  find 
noted,  the  honey-bee  out  this  day  for  the  first  time.  On 
the  16th  the  wind  was  N.  W.,  not  strong ;  and  on  the  17th 
and  18th  it  was  N.,  gentle.  The  thermometer  ranged  from 
26°  to  70°. 

14.  Springfield,  0.,  39°  30/  N.  84°  507  W.     (From  our  regular  correspondent, 

M.  G.  WILLIAMS,  Esq.) 

Began  to  rain  at  6|,  A.  M.,  of  the  16th  March,  changed 
to  snow  at  9,  and  terminated  at  night,  0.23  inch  of  water. 
Wind  all  day  at  N.  2,  clouds  N.  N.  W.  2.  On  the  15th  the 
wind  was  N.  W.  3-2  all  day,  and  on  the  17th  it  was  N.  W. 
3  at  7  A.  M.,  and  at  2  P.  M.,  N.  N.  W.  4;  clouds  N.  2,  and 
at  sunset  N.  N.  W.  3;  cloudy  all  day.  18th.  clear;  wind 


116  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

all  day  N.  N.  W.  2-3-1.  The  barometer  was,  on  the  15thr 
28.95,  and  fell  to  28.86  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  at 
which  it  stood  all  day,  and  rose  again  on  the  18th  to  28.90, 
but  fell  very  rapidly  on  that  day  to  28.63. 

15.  Greenfield,  Ind.  (near  the  middle  of  the  State,)  39°  53'  N.  85°  5%  W. 
(From  our  regular  correspondent,  DAVID  ALTER,  Esq.) 

March  15th,  cloudy ;  light  breeze  from  N.  W.  and  occa- 
sionally a  sprinkle  of  rain.  16th,  breeze  from  the  N.  and 
some  snow  falling.  17th,  clear,  strong  wind  from  N.  18th3 
clear,  light  breeze  from  N. 

Rome,  Ind.,  37°  58'  N.  86°  32'  W.  (60  miles  S.  W.  of  Louisville.)     (From 
SAMUEL  FRISBIE,  Esq.) 

We  had  no  storm  of  rain  or  snow  during  the  days  named. 
Indeed,  previous  to  the  6th  of  April,  we  had  no  rain  for  a 
long  time,  and  the  Ohio  bottoms  became  very  dry  and  hard 
to  plough.  I  must  say,  however,  I  took  no  note  of  the 
weather,  and  I  rely  solely  on  my  recollection. 

16.  Washington,  Michigan.     (From  D.  COOLEY,  Esq.  P.  M.) 

March  15th,  cloudy.  16th,  snowed  moderately  through 
the  day;  amount  of  snow  two  inches;  wind  brisk  from 
N.  E. ;  clear  at  9,  P.  M.  17th,  18th  and  19th,  clear;  wind 
not  noted. 

Centreville,  Michigan,  (southern  part  of  the  state,  and  nearer  the  west  than 
the  east.)  (Observed  by  WILLIAM  CONNOR,  Esq.",  communicated  by  J.  W. 
LAWLEY.) 

March  16th,  at  4|,  A.  M.,  commenced  snowing,  heavy 
wind  N.  W.  —  cold  —  at  noon  stopped  snowing  :  depth 
of  snow  two  inches.  The  17th,  clear  and  pleasant ;  snow 
gone  at  noon.  18th,  clear  and  warm.  19th,  thermometer 
66°  in  the  shade. 

17.    Western  Reserve   College,  Hudson,  O.,  (N.   E.   corner).      (From   our 
correspondent,  Prof.  ELI  AS  LOOM  is.) 

March  15th,  dense  drizzling  fog,   wind  faint  from  N. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  117 

W.  J6th,  wind  light  from  N.  W.  to  N.  N.  W.,  with  some 
snow  and  drizzling.  17th,  wind  fresh  in  the  morning, 
strong  in  the  afternoon  from  N.,  varying  from  about  N. 
N.  W.  to  N.  E.,  (March  wind.)  18th,  perfectly  clear 
and  bright;  wind  light  from  N.  N.  W.  to  N.  The  ba- 
rometer was  nearly  stationary  on  the  16th  and  17th,  at 
about  28.86 ;  on  the  18th  it  fell  to  28.79,  and  on  the  19th 
to  28.47. 

18.  Jefferson,  N.  C.,  (north  west  corner  of  the  state,)  36°  30'  N.,  81°  207  W. 

(From  R.  MURCHISON,  Esq.) 

The  storm  commenced  here  some  time  in  the  night  of 
the  15th  of  March,  with  rain  strongly  driven  by  W.  and 
N.  W.  winds,  and  terminated  on  the  18th  in  the  afternoon. 
The  wind  blew  with  little  variation  from  W.  and  N.  W. 
much  of  the  time  with  great  velocity. 

There  was  considerable  rain  on  the  night  of  the  15th  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  16th  ;  and  about  noon  on  that  day  a 
furious  storm  of  snow  commenced,  that  continued  till  about 
(or  a  little  before)  twelve,  M.,  on  the  18th.  The  whole  of 
the  17th  was  the  most  constant  and  violent  snow  storm  I 
ever  saw  to  continue  so  long. 

It  is  difficult  to  state  the  precise  depth  of  the  snow.  I 
presume  it  would  have  averaged  say  eighteen  or  nineteen 
inches  deep,  if  the  wind  had  not  blown  so  as  to  drift  it. 

It  was  very  cold  during  the  storm ;  range  of  mercury, 
from  25  to  8  above  zero. 

19.  Charleston,  S.   C.,  32°  47'  N.,  79°  57'  W.     (From  our  correspondent, 

EDWARD  C.  KECKELEY,  M.  D.) 

March  16th,  wind  south — rain. 

17th,  wind  south  —  cloudy. 
18th,  windN.  W.— fair. 
19th,  wind  N.  W.  — -fair. 

The  rain  of  the  16th  was  very  trifling.  Since  then  to 
this  time,  (3d  of  April,)  we  have  had  no  rain.  During  the 


118  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

whole  of  the  month  of  March,   we  have  had  very  little 
wind ;  indeed,  the  atmosphere  has  been  close  and  sultry. 

20.  Newbern,  N.  C.,  35°  20'  N.,  77°  5'  W.     (From  WILLIAM  G.  BRYAN.) 

Clear,  and  pleasant,  and  calm,  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th.  Light  wind  in  the  afternoon  at  S.  On  the  17th, 
cloudy  and  warm.  Light  rain  before  day,  wind  at  S. 
Afternoon  cold  and  cloudy  —  rain  and  hail  —  wind  W. 
On  the  18th,  cold  and  cloudy,  moderate  wind  at  N.  W. 
The  19th  was  clear  and  cold,  moderate  wind  W.  20th, 
very  pleasant  —  smoky  —  wind  S.  W. 

21.  New  Garden,  N.  C.,  (eight  miles  N.  E.  of  James  Town,)  34°  57' N., 
79°  1(X  W.      (From   JONATHAN   L.   SLOCUM,   communicated   by   DAVID 
LINDSAY,  Esq.) 

On  the  16th,  the  weather  was  cloudy  and  damp  during 
the  day,  in  the  evening  some  thunder  and  rain;  wind 
N.  E.  all  day.  On  the  17th,  cloudy  in  the  morning,  and  in 
the  afternoon  and  evening  rain  falling,  mixed  with  snow  ; 
wind  N.  E.  On  the  18th,  wind  N.  W.  till  evening,  then 
N.  E. — cloudy  —  snow  nearly  two  inches  deep.  19th, 
wind  N.  W.  all  day,  clear  arid  pleasant. 

Smithville,  N.  C.,  (S.  E.  corner  of  the  state,)  34°  7'  N.,  78°  1(X  W.     (From 
G.  S.  JEWETT,  Esq.) 

March  16th,  clear  and  fine;  wind  S.  W.,  probably  light. 
17th,  clear,  cold  and  windy,  W.  S.  W..  18th,  cold,  a  little 
rain,  windy,  N.  W.  Also,  twenty  miles  above  Smithville, 
March  16th,  pleasant  day ;  wind  S.  W.,  very  fresh  about 
one,  P.  M.  17th,  wind  not  high  this  day.  18th,  not  known. 
19th,  wind  N.  W.,  pleasant. 

22.  Alexandria,  D.  C.,  38°  49>  N.,  77°   4'  W.     (From  our  correspondent, 

WILLIAM  E.  HARPER,  Esq.) 

The  storm  commenced  on  the  16th,  and  terminated  on 
the  evening  of  the  18th. 

The   wind  blew  constantly  from  the  N.  E.  strong  on 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  119 

the  16th,  17th  and  18th,  and  there  was  considerable  rainy 
snow,  and  hail  on  the  17th,  continuing  till  noon  of  the  18th. 
On  the  19th,  wind  strong  from  N.  W.     The  thermometer 
at  freezing  point  before  sunrise. 

23.  Capitol  Hill,  Washington  City,  38°  53'  N.,  77°  2'  W.     (From  our  cor- 

respondent, Dr.  J.  M.  FOLTZ,  of  U.  S.  Navy.) 

The  wind  on  the  16th  of  March  was  S.  E.,  and  light. 
On  the  17th,  a  strong  gale  from  N.  E.  On  the  18th,  N.  E., 
fresh,  and  on  the  19th,  N.  W.,  moderate. 

At  nine  o'clock,  on  the  17th,  it  was  raining,  and  had 
rained  1^  inch ;  it  rained  and  snowed  two  inches  on  the 
17th,  and  on  the  18th,  -^  inch  more;  making  in  all  3.81 
inches.  The  barometer  was  stationary  on  the  16th  at  29. 93. 
It  fell  by  nine  A.  M.  of  the  17th,  to  29.758,  and  at  three,  P.  M., 
it  was  down  to  29.60,  and  was  the  same  next  morning. 

Dr.  Foltz  infers,  from  the  great  severity  of  the  storm,  and 
from  the  quantity  of  rain  and  snow  accompanied  with  a 
strong  N.  E.  gale,  that  he  was,  at  Washington,  in  the 
centre  of  the  storm. 

24.  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  Md.,  20°  0'  N.,  76°  43'  W.     (From  our 

regular  correspondent,  Prest.  H.  HUMPHREY.) 

The  storm  was  of  great  violence,  and  as  far  as  I  know, 
blew  steadily  from  the  N.  E.  When  I  rose  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  17th  of  March,  it  was  raining  moderately,  and 
I  observed  the  barometer  had  fallen  from  30.00  to  29.76. 
It  continued  to  sink  all  day,  and  at  6,  P.  M.,  was  29.62, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  at  seven,  was  29.59. 

My  opinion  is,  that  the  wind  began  to  blow  about  11, 
P.  M.,  of  the  16th,  at  which  time  I  observed  a  remarkable 
light,  due  E.,  that  I  took  to  be  an  aurora.  I  watched  it  for 
some  time  after  my  lamp  was  extinguished,  and  it  exhibited 
vivid  pencils,  as  high  as  45°  or  50°,  and  cast  a  strong  light, 
although  obstructed  by  broken  clouds.  It  was  soon  after 
this  that  I  noticed  the  raising  of  the  wind,  by  its  effect  on 


120  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  building.  The  rain  on  the  17th  turned  to  snow  in  the 
afternoon,  which  continued  through  some  part,  or  all  of  the 
night,  but  the  quantity  was  small,  leaving  but  two  or  three 
inches  on  Sunday  at  noon.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and 
the  gale  blew  at  times  as  powerfully  as  I  have  ever  felt  it 
at  this  place.  Its  violence  abated  somewhat  on  Sunday 
afternoon. 

25.  Gettysburgh,  Perm.,  (south  side  of  the  state.)     (From  our  regular  cor- 

respondent, JACOB  LEFEVER,  Esq.) 

The  storm  commenced  with  dribbling  of  rain  at  half 
past  ten  P.  M.  March  16th,  and  the  heavy  fall  of  snow  ter- 
minated about  half  past  nine,  A.  M.,  on  the  18th,  although 
there  were  frequent  showers  of  fine  snow  till  about  half  past 
five,  P.  M.  The  morning  of  the  nineteenth  was  very  near- 
ly clear  and  calm.  The  wind  was  N.  N.  E.,  that  is,  nearer 
north  than  north  east,  all  the  time.  It  commenced  with 
rain:  but  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  the  snow  was  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  deep,  and  melting  very  fast.  The  whole 
quantity  fallen  I  calculated  at  1.7473  inches.  The  snow 
along  the  mountain,  within  ten  miles  of  this  place,  was  said 
to  have  been  at  least  two  and  a  half  feet  deep. 

The  wind  was  from  2  to  3  from  the  evening  of  the  16th 
till  the  evening  of  the  18th.  That  is,  a  strong  breeze. 

26.  Bellefonte,  Penn.  (near  the  centre  of  the  state,)  40°  54'  N.  77°  47'  W. 

(From  our  regular  correspondent,  JOHN  HARRIS,  M.  D.) 

The  snow  commenced  at  ten,  P.  M.,  of  the  16th,  and  con- 
tinued till  four,  P.  M.  of  the  18th,  being  a  great  part  of  the 
time  mixed  with  rain ;  its  depth  about  seven  inches  —  whole 
quantity  estimated  at  1.5  inches  of  water. 

The  wind  was  north  at  seven  A.  M.  of  the  16th  and 
gentle;  from  two,  P.  M.,  of  the  16th,  till  seven,  A.  M., 
of  the  19th,  the  wind  was  constantly  very  gentle  from 
N.  E.,  when  it  changed  to  S.  W.  Barometer  all  day 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOIJNT  COMMITTEE. 


121 


of  the  16th,  29.29;  at  7,  A.  M.,  of  the  17th,  29.25;  at  2, 
P.  M.,  29.24;  at  9,  P.  M.  29.20. 

27.   Meadville,  Perm.,  41°  38'  N.,  80°  10'  W.     (From  our  regular  correspon- 
dent, FREDERICK  HUIDEKOPER.) 

Direction  &  force  of  wind. 
7A.M.         2P.M. 9P.M 

N.  1  N.  2  N.  4 
ENE.  4  E.  5  E.  3 
ENE.  4ENE.5  0 

On  the  16th,  snow  too  slight  to  be  mentioned. 


Thermometer. 


Barometer. 


Day. 

16, 

17, 

18, 

7A.M.  2P.M.  9P.  M. 

33°     361°     29° 
29      34       33 

27      45       27 

7A.M.2P.M.9P.M. 

000 
2"S  85         38.85         28.85 
000 
25-83         28.83         25-51 
10               10               10 
28.52         28-81          28.7? 

10  o'clock,  P.  M. 
Ther.      Bar.      Wind. 


28.  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  43°  8'  N.,  77°  51'  W.  (From  JOHN  B.  ELWOOD,  Esq.) 

10  o'clock,  A.  M. 
Ther.     Bar.     Wind.      Sky. 

15th,  48°  29.60  S.     Cloudy. 

—.70  NE.     do. 

—.80  E.     Fair. 

—.65  E.        do. 

—.30  W.      do. 
20th,  32    —.30  NW.  Cloudy. 
21st,  34    — .70  NW.  Showers. 


16th,  37 
17th,  36 
18th,  43 
19th,  35 


40° 

32 

37 

34 

43 

38 

50 


29.60 
—.75 
—.75 
—.50 
—.35 
—.60 
—.60 


W. 

NE. 

E. 

NE. 

E. 

NE. 

SW. 


Sky. 

Cloudy. 

do. 
Fair. 

do. 
Cloudy. 

do. 
Showers. 


The  winds  were  at  no  time  very  strong,  or  a  note  would 
have  been  made  of  it. 

29.  Onondaga  Hollow,  N.  Y.,  (middle  ofthe  State,)  43°  0'  N.,76°  &  W  nearly. 
(From  J.  L.  HENDKICK,  Esq.) 

We  had  no  storm  here  except  a  small  snow  storm  on  the 
afternoon  and  evening  of  the  16th  of  March  ;  the  wind  N.  W. 
all  day.  On  the  17th,  the  wind  somewhat  variable,  generally 
N.,  (A.M.)  and  N.,  N. N.  E.  and  N.  E.,  (P.  M. ;)  cloudy  all  day. 
On  the  18th,  wind  N.  andN.  N.  W.  (A.M.)  and  N.  W.  (P.  M.) 
day  cloudy.  On  the  19th,  wind  variable,  but  generally  W. ; 
day  fair.  The  strength  of  the  wind  during  those  days  was 
also  variable;  sometimes,  arid  especially  from  the  W.  and 
N.  W. ;  rather  strong,  at  other  times  only  a  gentle  breeze. 


16 


122 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


30.  Silver  Lake,  Penn.,  41°  55'  N.,  76°  W,      (From  our  regular  correspon- 

dent, a  lady.) 

Thermometer.  Barometer.  Winds. 

7A.M      2P.M.    9P.M. 

SSE.2S.  3S.  2 
NW.2NW.2NNW2 
NW.  INW.2NW.  3 

On  the  night  of  the  16th  it  snowed  one  inch  deep,  and  on 
the  17th,  it  snowed  half  an  inch. 

31.  Sunbury,  Penn'.,  40°  53'  N.,  79°  5CK  W.  (From  our  regular  correspondent, 

HUGH  BELLAS,  Esq.) 


Day. 
16, 

I?, 

18, 

7A.M.2P.M.9P.M. 

36°     38°     36° 
32      38      34 
31      42      58 

7A.M.2P.M.9P.M. 

000 
28£5        27.98        27.98 
000 
28.00        2S.S5        58.05 
10               10               10 
28.00"         2S.DO        S8.DO 

Barometer. 
8  A.  M.      Noon.      5  P.  M. 

29.45 

29.45      29.45      29.45 

29.30      29.30     29.30 


Thermometer. 

8  A.  M.        Noon.       5  P.  M. 
16th,  41°  49° 

17th,         34  37         36° 

18th,         32  38         36 

On  the  night  of  the  16th  snow  six  inches  deep;  on  the 
mountains  between  this  and  Pottsville,  three  or  four  feet 
deep  —  no  mails  for  seven  days. 

Snow,  rain  and  snow,  on  the  17th,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  18th,  the  wind  N.  E.,  on  the  16th,  17th,  and  18th,  except 
at  eight  A.  M.  of  the  17th,  when  it  was  E.  On  the  19th 
changeable  from  N.  W.  to  S.  W. 

32.  Bucks  County  Academy,  Penn.,  40°  17'  N.,  75°  7'  W.  nearly.    (From  our 
regular  correspondent.  Prof.  L.  H.  PARSONS.) 


Thermometer. 


Barometer. 


Winds. 


7.A.M.2P.M.9P.M. 

16th,  44°      56°     43° 
17th,  37       35      33 
18th,  32|      34i     33 

7A.M.2P.M.9P.M. 

29-92        29-82        29-81  . 
120 
29-87        29-81        29-73 
000 
29.60       29-65        29-65 
000 

7A.M.  2  P.  M.  9  P.  M. 

NE.   jNE.  1  NE.  | 
NE.   |NE.2  NE.  3 
NE.2|NE.l  NE.  1 

It  rained  on  the  night  of  the  16th ;  depth  of  snow,  five 
inches  in  all ;  ceased  on  the  night  of  the  17th.  Snow  and 
rain,  2.48  inch  water. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  123 

33.  Reading,  Penn.,  40°  18'  N.,  75°  55'  W.  (Observed  by  C.  F.  EGELLMANN, 

Esq.,  communicated  by  SAMUEL  HITTER,  Esq.) 

March  16th,  cloudy,  with  N.  W.  wind  at  2,  P.  M.  Tem- 
perature, 62°,  17th,  rain  at  7,  A.  M.,  turning  to  snow  at  7| ; 
snow  continued,  with  occasional  rain,  till  the  morning  of  the 
18th,  wind  strong  from  N.  E.  all  the  time  ;  in  the  evening 
it  changed  round  to  N.  W.  and  was  N.  W.  and  W.  next  day. 
On  the  17th,  the  thermometer  was  from  34°  to  33°  all  day. 

34.  Philadelphia,  Penn.  39°  57  N.,  71°  11'  W.      (By  JAMES  P.  ESPY,  Meteo- 

rologist of  Joint  Committee.) 

March  16th,  wind  very  gentle  N.  and  clouds  from  S.  W.  1 , 
and  cloudy  at  7,  A.  M. ;  wind  got  round  to  N.  E.  1  before  2, 
P.  M.,  clouds  still  coming  from  S.  W.  2 ;  a  slight  sprinkle 
of  rain  at  9,  P.  M. 

17th.  On  the  morning  of  the  17th,  at  7,  it  began  to  rain, 
mingled  with  hail;  it  rained  much  during  the  morning, 
and  snowed  much  in  the  afternoon,  wind  and  clouds  from 
N.  E. ;  storm  increasing  in  violence  all  day,  and  continued 
very  violent  all  night,  until  9,  A.  M.,  of  the  18th,  when  it 
began  to  abate,  and  at  1,  P.  M.,  it  had  nearly  ceased  snow- 
ing ;  wind  still  very  strong  N.  E.  A  little  snow  in  the  af- 
ternoon, and  by  6,  P.  M.,  the  wind  had  veered  round  to  N. 
by  E.,  and  gradually  died  away  in  the  night ;  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  19th  it  was,  with  the  lower  clouds,  N.,  very 
gentle,  and  the  upper  clouds  from  the  west  moving  quite 
slow. 

The  barometer  was  stationary  on  the  16th,  at  29.91,  and 
fell  on  the  17th,  from  29.93  at  7,  A.  M.,  to  29.78  at  9,  P.  M., 
and  was  at  its  lowest,  29.68,  on  the  next  morning.  The 
thermometer  ranged  from  44°  to  55°  on  the  16th,  from  37° 
to  33°  on  the  17th,  and  was  only  33°  at  2,  P.  M.  The  dew 
point  was  38°,  or  17  degrees  below  the  temperature  of  the 
air  on  the  16th  at  2,  P.  M. ;  and  at  2,  P.  M.  of  the  17th,  it 


124  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

was  almost  the  same  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  itself, 
or  33°. 

Greendale,  Penn.,  (west  of  the  centre  of  the  state).     (From  our  regular  cor- 
respondent, H.  B.  WRIGHT,  Esq.) 

March  16th,  calm,  clouds  from  N.,  small  rain  P.  M., 
cloudy  all  day.  17th,  calm  till  11,  A.  M. ;  snow  all  day 
and  all  night  till  9,  A.  M.,  of  the  18th,  clearing  at  6,  P.  M., 
with  fog  in  the  night. 

Wind  N.  E.  on  the  17th,  calm  again  on  the  18th,  warm 
on- the  20th,  with  high  waters.  Whole  quantity  of  water 
deposited,  68.100. 

35.  Snow  Hill,  Md.,  (Eastern  Shore,  southern  part,)  38°  10'  N.,  75°  25'  W. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th,  appearances  of  rain ;  at  4, 
P.  M.,  raining,  wind  nearly  calm,  N.  E.  On  the  17th,  at  8, 
A.  M.,  rain,  wind  E.  N.  E.  4;  it  rained  all  day,  wind  N.  E. 
5,  and  continued  to  blow  hard  all  night,  frequently  raining 
hard.  Towards  day  on  the  18th,  it  became  moderate,  and 
at  11,  A.  M.,  wind  was  N.  4,  still  cloudy  and  dark;  at  5|, 
wind  N.  4,  rain,  mixed  with  snow.  On  the  19th,  in  the 
morning,  the  wind  was  west,  and  moderate;  at  4,  P.  M.,  it 
was  northerly  and  clear. 

36.  Log-book  of  ship  Algonquin,  near  Delaware  Capes. 

March  16th,  noon,  civil  reckoning,  —  light  airs  from  W. 
S.  W.,  and  clear ;  at  1,  P.  M.,  calm;  at  6,  P.  M.,  light  airs 
from  E. ;  sounded  in  fifty  fathoms  water ;  midnight,  strong 
breezes  from  E.  by  N.,  and  hazy ;  at  4,  A.  M.,  strong  breezes 
and  rain,  35  fathoms  water;  at  5,  took  in  top  gallant  sail, 
double  reefed  the  mizzen  top  sail ;  at  7,  double  reefed  the 
fore  and  mizzen  top  sail,  took  in  the  jib ;  at  8,  strong  gales, 
and  thick,  rainy  weather,  18  fathoms  water;  wore  ship's 
head  to  S.  E.  [to  avoid  coming  on  shore] ;  at  11,  A.  M., 
gale  E.  N.  E.  increasing,  moderately  strong,  and  a  high 
sea,  raining  very  heavy  ;  sounded  22  fathoms  water ;  con- 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  125 

tinuing  with  strong  gales  N.  E.  by.  E. ;  heavy  squalls  and 
torrents  of  rain;  bearing  a  heavy  press  of  canvass  to  get  off 
shore ;  at  4,  P.  M.,  took  in  main  sail ;  23  fathoms  water  ;  at 
6,  P.M.,  30  fathoms  water;  took  in  fore  top  sail;  at  ten 
minutes  past  6,  fell  start  calm  ;  left  a  very  heavy  sea  ;  mid- 
night calm  ;  cleared  off,  very  heavy  swell.  At  2,  A.  M.,  of 
18th,  light  air  from  south,  set  the  fore  sail  and  fore  top  sail ; 
shut  in  thick ;  at  4,  A.  M.,  light  airs  and  thick  weather;  at 
5,  A.  M.,  set  single  reefed  top  sails,  jib,  and.  spanker  main 
sail,  wind  still  south  ;  at  8,  set  the  top  gallant  sails ;  thick 
weather ;  noon,  moderate  breezes,  wind  baffling. 

Batavia,  N.  Y.,  (near  N.  W.  corner  of  the  state,)  42°  58'  N.,  76°  2(X  W.  nearly 
(From  W..H.  WEBSTER,  Esq.) 

Wind  on  the  16th,  17th,  and  18th  of  March,  fine  acicular 
crystals  of  snow  falling  all  day  of  the  16th,  but  now  lying 
on  the  ground.  Sun  seen  through  the  clouds  all  day  on  the 
17th. 

37.  Catskill,  N.  Y.,  42°  1<X  N.,  73°  52'  W.     (From  the  Postmaster.) 

Between  the  16th  and  19th  of  March,  about  three  inches 
of  snow  fell ;  wind  southerly  at  first,  soon  veering  about 
S.  E.,  N.  and  N.  W. ;  a  heavy  gale  on  the  18th  and  19th, 
wind  northerly. 

38.  Pottsdam,  N.  Y.,  44°  38'  N.,  74°  W  W.    (From  DAVID  S.  SHELDEN, 
communicated  by  H.  ALLEN,  Esq.,  P.  M.) 

March  16th,  wind  all  day  N.,  with  a  little  snow  in  the 
morning.  On  the  17th,  cloudy  in  the  morning,  clear  in  the 
afternoon ;  wind  all  day  N.  E.,  light.  On  the  19th,  clear 
in  the  morning,  a  little  rain  in  the  afternoon  ;  wind  N.  E. 
in  the  forenoon,  and  S.  W.  in  the  afternoon,  very  light. 

39.  Montreal,  Canada,  45°  31'  N.,  73°  35'  W. 

From  the  journal  of  James  McCord,  Esq.  it  appears  that 
it  neither  rained  nor  snowed  here  during  16th,  17th,  18th, 
19th,  or  20th  of  March,  and  the  wind  blew  steadily,  but  not 


126  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

violently,  from  the  north,  on  the  16th,  17th,  18th,  and  19th, 
and  on  the  20th  shifted  to  the  N.  W. 
The  barometer  stood  as  follows : 
16th,  morning,  30.040  evening  30.124 

17th,         "  30.250  "        30.200 

18th,        u  30.088  "        29.890 

19th,         "  29.678  "        29.464 

20th,         "  29.724  "        29.750 

The  mean  of  the  maximum  and  minimum  of  the  ther- 
mometer, during  those  days,  was  31°  and  8°. 

The  mornings  were  generally  clear  and  fine,  growing 
cloudy  towards  the  evening.  The  strength  of  the  wind 
may  be  called  a  fresh  breeze. 

40.  University  of  Vermont,  Burlington,  44°  3(X  N.,  73°  1%  W.    (From  Prof. 
GEORG;;  W.  BLUEDICT.) 

There  was  no  storm  here  of  any  kind  during  the  days  in 
question.  The  whole  month  of  March,  previous  to  that 
time,  was  remarkable  here  for  its  mild  and  quiet  character. 
East  winds  are  almost  never  known  here.  Though  I  made 
no  record  of  the  wind  on  the  days  mentioned  in  the  circu- 
lar, I  am  confident  that  the  set  of  the  air  (quite  slight)  was 
from  the  south,  and  the  weather  pleasant. 

41.  Charlestown,  N.  H.,  43°  14'  N.,  72°  25'  W.    (Dr.  S.  WEBBER.) 

March  16th,  wind  N.  E.,  cloudy,  broke  away  partially 
for  a  little  while  about  noon,  showing  many  broad  streaks 
of  cirro-strati ;  in  the  afternoon,  sky  again  overcast,  looking 
like  rain,  Therm.  34°. 

17th,  wind  N.  E.,  cloudy  through  the  day;  at  noon  wind 
became  E.,  but  changed  again  to  N.  E.,  Therm.  36°. 

18th,  wind  N.  E.,  fresh  and  raw:  about  11,  A.  M.,  began 
to  snow,  which  continued  moderately  through  the  day, 
Therm.  29°. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  127 

42.  Jafrey,  N.  H.,  (S.  W.  corner  of  the  state,)  42°  45'  N.,  72°  5'  W. 

L.  Howe,  Esq.  informs  us  that  there  was  no  storm  there ; 
only  one  inch  of  snow  on  the  18th,  at  noon,  fair  on  the  19th. 
On  tha  16th  and  17th,  wind  not  recollected. 

43.  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Conn.  41°  34'  N.,  72°  39'  W.     (From 

our  regular  correspondent,  Prof.  AUG.  W.  SMITH.) 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th,  at  half  past  seven,  A.  M.,  the 
wind  was  noted  N.  W.,  the  rest  of  the  day,  N.,  quite  gentle. 
On  the  17th,  wind  N.  at  half  past  seven,  A.  M. ;  and  clouds 
N.  E. ;  at  twelve,  meridian,  and  half  past  five,  P.  M.,  wind 
E.,  and  gentle  all  day;  cloudy,  with  slight  rain  at  two,  P.  M. 
On  the  18th,  snow  about  two  inches  deep  all  the  morning ; 
time  of  beginning  not  mentioned ;  wind  N.  E.  all  day,  and 
strong.  19th,  wind  N.  E.,  A.  M.,  strong,  and  N.  W.,  P.  M., 
gentle.  Barometer  rose  from  29.81  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th,  to  30.11,  at  half  past  five,  P.  M.  of  the  17th  ;  fell  again 
till  half  past  five,  P.  M.,  of  the  19th,  when  it  was  29.70. 

44.  Newport,  R.  I.,  41°  28' N.,  71°  21'  W.     (From  our  regular  correspond- 

ent, R.  J.  TAYLOR,  Esq.) 

March  16th,  wind  N.  W.  in  the  morning,  and  S.  W.,  P.  M. 
17th  and  18th,  and  morning  of  the  19th,  N.  E. ;  then  N.  W. 
at  two,  P.  M.,  and  S.  W.  at  nine,  P.  M.  — heavy  on  the  17th. 

7  A.  M.        2  P.  M.        9  P.  M. 

March  16th.  Barometer  '2*»  3b!5  StS 

10  10                             0 

17th                     «                                         2990  29-90  29-86 

'                                                                   0  0                               0 

18th                     "                                        29-67  29-57  29-51 

Snow  0                               0 

Snow  from  six  to  twelve  inches  on  the  18th. 

45.  Brown  University,  Providence,  R.  I.,  41°  StX  N.,  71°  25'  W.     (From  our 

regular  correspondent,  Prof.  ALEXIS  CASWELL.) 

S.  R. 

March  17th,  29.90 
18th,  —.74 
19th,  —.74 


Barometer. 

Thermometer. 

1  P.  M. 

10  P.  M. 

S.  R. 

1  P.  M. 

10  P.  M. 

29.96 

29.91 

35° 

38° 

34° 

—.70 

—.60 

31 

32 

28 

—.45 

—.41 

28 

38 

34 

128 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


Winds. 
S.  R.        1  P.  M.    10  P.  M. 

March  17th,  N.  E.      N.  E.     N.  E. 
"      18th,     "  "          " 


Weather. 
S.  R.        1  P.  M.     10  P.  M. 

var.     cloudy,   cloudy, 
snow.  snow.      snow. 


"      19th,     "     easterly,  easterly,  cloudy,  cloudy,  clear. 

The  15th  was  mild  and  pleasant — 16th  do.  and  wind 
came  to  N.  E.  A.  M. ;  on  the  17th  wind  N.  E.  brisk  and  raw, 
increasing  towards  night  and  cloudy.  Wind  heavy  during 
the  night. 

On  the  18th,  snow  began  to  fall  about  six,  A.  M.,  wind 
heavy  N.  E.,  snow  continued  till  after  ten  P.  M.  but  ceased 
before  morning.  The  wind  was  so  violent  during  the  storm, 
that  the  snow  was  considerably  drifted ;  quantity  half  an 
inch  water. 

46.  Dedham,  Mass.,  42°  15'  N.,  71°  11'  W.  (Journal  of  Mr.  TALBOT,  commu- 

nicated by  ELISHA  THAYER,  Esq.) 

16th,  fair,  moderate  N.  E.  wind. 

17th,  cloudy,  strong  N.  E.  wind. 

18th,  cloudy,  very  strong  N.  E.  wind  with  2|  inches  snow. 

19th,  cloudy,  moderate  N.  W.  wind. 

47.  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  41°  17£'  N.,  70°  56' W.     (From  RICHARD  WIL- 

LIAMS, Esq.) 
Ther.    Bar.        Wind.  Weather. 

16th,  sunrise,  37°  30.00  NW.  light,  clear. 
2P.M.  49    30.09  NE.   mod.  clear. 


9P.M.  41  30.18 

17th,  sunrise,  37  30.23 

2P.M.  40  30.29 

9P.M.  35  30.26 


cloudy. 


fresh. 


18th,  sunrise,  34  30.11 
2P.M.  33  29.99 
9  P.  M.  33  29.91 

19th,  sunrise  32 
2  P.  M.  36 


high. 
f        "      beginning  to  snow. 

snowing  lightly. 

'     fresh,  cloudy,  water  fallen  .60 
29.78  NNE.      "     light  snow. 
29.71     N.    mod.   clouds  broken,  P.   M. 


9  P.  M.  32    29.74  westerly,  light,  clear. 


[clear. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  129 

Northborough,  Mass.,  42°  16'  N.,  71°  48'  W.,  nearly.     (From  JOSEPH  ALLEN, 

Esq.) 

March  16lh.  This  was  a  mild,  pleasant  day,  wind  S.  W.; 
some  time  during  the  night  the  wind  shifted  into  the  N.  E. ; 
and  the  17th  was  raw,  cold  and  cloudy — wind  pretty 
strong  from  N.  E.  Early  on  the  18th,  the  snow  began  to 
fall,  and  the  wind  to  rise ;  and  through  the  day  the  storm 
continued  without  intermission,  though  its  violence  abated 
somewhat  in  the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon.  The  snow 
was  quite  moist,  yet  so  great  was  the  violence  of  the  wind, 
that  it  drifted  a  good  deal,  probably  about  six  inches  in 
depth. 

Williams  College,  Mass.,  (N.  W.  corner  of  the  state.)   42°  30'  N.,  73°  12'  W. 

President  Albert  Hopkins  states  that  from  the  16th  to  the 
afternoon  of  the  17th,  the  wind  was  N.  W. ;  and  then  chang- 
ed to  N.  E. ;  that  it  commenced  snowing  soon  after  break- 
fast on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  wind  N.,  or  perhaps  a  little 
E.  of  N.  On  the  19th,  it  was  from  N.  to  N.  W.,  and  clear. 
The  thermometer  varied  only  from  30.5°  to  39°  till  the  19th, 
when  it  rose  to  43°,  wind  very  light. 

48.  Concord,  N.  H.,  43°  12'  N.,  71°  29'  W.     (From  JOHN  FARMER,  Esq.) 

The  storm  was  hardly  felt  here.  The  weather  was 
cloudy  all  day,  on  the  17th  of  March  with  the  wind  E. 
and  N.  E.  On  the  18th  a  light  snow  commenced  at  noon, 
and  continued  through  the  afternoon,  enough  to  cover  the 
ground. 

The  wind  was  brisk  part  of  the  day,  from  the  N.  E. 
The  highest  point  of  temperature  during  the  day  was  33°, 
and  the  lowest  28°. 

On  the  19th,  at  9,  A.  M.,  all  appearances  of  a  storm  had 
ceased,  wind  N.  W.  as  it  had  been  on  the  16th. 

The  thermometer  stood  as  follows  : 

17 


130  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


16th 

6,  A.  M. 

33° 

Highest. 

54° 

9,  P.  M. 

43° 

17th 

36° 

43° 

35° 

18th 

33° 

33° 

28° 

19th 

28° 

50° 

38° 

49.  Bethlehem,  N.  H.,  44°  2(X  N.,  71°  35'  W. 

William  Kenney,  Esq.,  informs  us  that  there  was  no 
storm  here,  the  weather  was  mild  and  pleasant  till  the  af- 
ternoon of  the  18th,  when  there  was  a  very  little  snow; 
the  wind  was  very  little,  westwardly. 

50.  Portland,  Maine,  43°  39'  N.,  70°  2(X  W.     (From  the  Diary  of  LEMUEL 

MOODY,  Esq.) 

March  16th,  from  morning  to  noon,  light  N.  E.  airs  and 
clear  weather.  P.  M.  clear,  calm,  warm  and  pleasant. 
Thermometer  at  sunrise  34°,  noon  46°,  8,  P.  M.,  40°. 

17th,  from  sunrise  to  noon,  clear  weather,  with  light 
N.  E.  airs.  P.  M.  cloudy,  with  light  S.  E.  airs,  inclining 
to  calm. 

Therm.         30°  38°  32° 

18th,  forenoon  brisk  wind,  varying  from  E.  N.  E.  to  N.  E. 
with  thick,  cloudy  weather,  particularly  so  in  the  south 
quarter.  At  half  past  1,  commenced  a  moderate  N.  E. 
snow  storm,  wind  not  more  than  a  brisk  gale.  Snow  fell 
very  moderately  and  ceased  the  first  part  of  the  evening, 
snow  1|  inches  deep. 

Therm.         30°  30°  26° 

19th,  forenoon  moderate  N.  E.  winds  and  cloudy.  P.  M. 
light  winds  from  E.  round  to  S.  Evening  clear,  calm  and 
pleasant. 

Therm.         28°  45°  38° 

The  foregoing  furnishes  a  summary  of  the  information 
received  concerning  the  storm,  both  from  our  regular  cor- 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOUST  COMMITTEE.  131 

respondents,  and  in  answer  to  the  circular  issued  by  the 
joint  committee. 

The  following  facts,  chiefly  collected  from  the  newspa- 
pers of  the  day,  will  be  found  highly  interesting  in  connec- 
tion with  those  already  given. 

From  the  American  Sentinel,  March  23. 

Arrived  at  Philadelphia,  March  23d,  packet  ship  Algon- 
quin, having  been  11  days  to  the  N.  of  Cape  Hatteras.  On 
the  17th,  at  8,  A.  M.,  Cape  Henlopen  bearing  N.  W.,  dis- 
tant 15  miles,  took  a  heavy  gale  E.  by  N. ;  hauled  off. 
On  Sunday,  the  18th,  lat.  37°  50',  spoke  brig  Venus,  for 
New  York,  who  had  lost  two  men  and  jib-boom  by  gale  on 
day  previous. 

From  the  Mercantile  Advertiser  of  the  19th  of  March.     4G°  42'  N.,  74°  1  W. 

The  wind  on  the  17th  and  18th  was  heavy,  N.  E.,  accom- 
panied with  snow.  Of  course  nothing  got  to  sea  from  New 
York,  and  but  few  vessels  arrived. 

From  the  same  paper,  of  the  20th  March. 
Lewis,  38°  35'  N.,  75°  12'  W.     (Correspondence  of  Philadelphia  Exchange.) 

March  16th.     Wind  now  at  E.  and  weather  very  lowery. 

March  17th,  2,  P.  M.  The  schooner  Samuel  McDowel, 
and  shortly  after  the  schooner  Richmond,  came  on  our 
beach,  the  wind  E.  N.  E.,  and  blowing  a  heavy  gale. 

Morning  of  the  18th.  The  Richmond  has  gone  to  pieces. 
From  4  till  after  12  last  night,  the  wind  blew  with  great  vio- 
lence, and  the  sea  made  considerable  breaks  over  the  break- 
water. 

From  the  same  paper  of  the  24th. 

A  number  of  outward  bound  vessels  are  detained,  owing 
to  the  E.  winds  which  have  prevailed  some  days. 

From  the  same  paper  of  the  26th. 

Schooner  William,  off  Cape  Hatteras,  N.  35°  14',  W. 
75°  30',  on  the  19th,  in  a  gale  W.  N.  W.,  lost  the  deck  load. 


132  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

From  the  National  Gazette  of  the  20th. 

Cape  Island,  March  18th.  I  cannot  describe  to  you  the 
horrors  of  last  night.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the 
wind,  N.  E.,  blew  such  a  gale  that  it  baffles  all  description. 
On  yesterday  afternoon  the  wind  was  increasing,  with  rain, 
hail,  and  snow. 

From  the  Commercial  Herald  and  Pennsylvania  Sentinel  of  the  20th. 

Norfolk,  36°  51'  N.,  76°  19'  W.,  18th  March.  The  wind 
continues  from  N.  to  N.  E.  It  rained  nearly  all  day,  yes- 
terday, the  17th. 

From  the  same  paper  of  the  22d. 

Fifteen  schooners  at  Little  Egg  Harbor  dragged  their 
anchors. 

From  the  same  paper  of  the  27th. 

Arrived,  ship  Sabina,  50  days  from  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Had 
been  off  the  Capes  of  Delaware  in  thick  fog  from  the  21st. 
Experienced  tremendous  gales  from  W.  S.  W.  on  the  17th 
and  18th  March. 

From  other  papers  not  recollected. 

Schooner  Caroline,  in  a  gale  on  the  18th,  lat.  40°  24', 
long.  72°  12',  lost  a  man  overboard. 

Brig  Russel,  lat.  38°,  long.  73°,  lost  stern  boat  and  davits 
on  the  18th,  during  a  severe  N.  E.  gale. 

Packet  ship  North  America  arrived  at  New  York  on  the 
18th.  She  had  to  heave  too  from  Sunday  morning  till  Mon- 
day morning,  (that  is,  from  the  18th  till  the  19th)  during 
which  time  it  blew  a  gale  E.  N.  E.  outside  the  Hook. 

From  the  Baltimore  American  of  the  20th. 

The  fall  of  snow  on  the  17th  and  18th,  was  deeper  to  the 
west  than  at  this  place.  The  mail  carriage,  which  was  de- 
spatched from  Frederick,  west,  with  eight  horses  attached 
to  it,  was  so  effectually  impeded  by  the  snow,  that  the 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  133 

driver  was  compelled  to  return  to  Frederick.  The  snow 
on  the  Alleghanies,  some  days  ago,  was  two  feet  deep  along 
the  turnpike,  from  Cumberland  to  Wheeling,  and  the  mails 
were  carried  through  with  the  greatest  difficulty. 

From  the  United  States  Gazette  of  the  21st. 

Packet  ship  Pochahontas  rode  out  the  gale  of  Saturday 
night,  the  17th,  off  the  light-house,  on  the  Brandywine 
shoal.  At  one  time  the  gale  was  so  violent,  that  it  was 
feared  her  masts  would  have  to  be  cut  away. 

The  same  paper  of  the  22d  states,  from  the  Delaware 
breakwater,  that  the  gale  was  the  most  severe  ever  expe- 
rienced at  that  place. 

JAMES  P.  ESPY,  Meteorologist. 


Condensed  Statement  of  the  Facts. 

116.  It  appears  from  the  facts  detailed  in  the  report  of  the 
committee  on  meteorology,  that  a  storm  of  rain  and  snow 
of  great  violence  was  raging  on  the  17th  of  March,  reaching 
north  east  and  south  west  from  the  western  extremity  of 
North  Carolina  to  the  northeastern  extremity  of  Pennsylva- 
nia; and  in  a  north  west  and  south  east  direction,  from 
about  the  middle  of  Ohio,  to  the  eastern  extremity  of  North 
Carolina,  and  east  and  west  from  beyond  Lexington.  Ken- 
tucky, to  some  distance  in  the  Atlantic  beyond  the  eastern 
shore  of  Maryland.  The  storm  was  much  the  greatest  on 
the  17th,  and  its  boundaries  on  this  day  about  noon,  have 
been  represented  by  the  middle  circle  in  the  map  accompa- 
nying the  report  of  the  committee. 

This  storm  moved  along  the  surface  of  the  earth  nearly 
towards  the  east. 

It  appears  that  the  barometer  fell  on  the  17th,  in  all 
places  near  the  centre  or  far  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
storm,  and  rose  in  many  places  near  its  borders,  and  be- 


134  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

yond  them ;  especially  in  the  extreme  west  and  north  east, 
(see  Lexington,  and  Montreal,  and  Providence,  and  Middle- 
town.) 

It  appears,  also,  what  might  naturally  be  expected  from 
the  fall  of  the  barometer  within  the  storm,  that  the  wind  at 
the  borders,  and  for  some  distance  beyond,  blew  inwards, 
towards  the  storm.  The  information  which  we  have  at 
present  does  not  enable  us  to  know  whether  the  barometer 
stood  lowest  in  the  very  middle  of  the  storm  or  not.  If  it 
did,  and  there  was  no  general  currents  in  the  atmosphere 
to  produce  oblique  forces,  the  laws  of  dynamics  justify  us 
in  expecting  the  wind  in  such  case  to  blow  inwards  from 
the  circumference,  exactly  towards  the  centre,  just  as  we 
would  expect  the  wind  to  blow  outwards  from  the  centre 
of  a  storm,  if  there  was  any  cause  in  nature  to  make  the 
barometer  stand  constantly  higher  at  that  point  than  in  the 
circumference. 

By  casting  the  eye  on  the  map  accompanying  the  report, 
it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  one  point  at  which  all  the 
arrows,  if  prolonged,  would  meet.  There  is,  indeed,  much 
irregularity  in  this  respect.  For  example,  the  arrow  near 
Jamestown,  North  Carolina,  which  is  south  of  the  centre  of 
the  storm,  still  shows  the  wind  north  east ;  as  if  the  point 
of  greatest  depression  of  the  barometer,  was  near  the  south- 
ern border  of  the  storm ;  somewhere  in  North  Carolina ; 
while  in  the  northern  part  of  the  storm,  the  arrow  for  Silver 
Lake  shows  the  wind  to  be  north  west;  as  if  the  point  of 
greatest  depression  of  the  barometer  was  near  the  north 
part  of  the  storm. 

And  yet,  if  the  strong  winds  be  considered  in  the  extreme 
boundaries  of  the  storm,  for  example,  Springfield  and  Wil- 
mington, in  Ohio,  and  in  the  east  (all  the  observations  from 
the  Chesapeake  to  New  York,)  these  arrows  being  prolong- 
ed will  meet  very  little  south  of  the  centre  of  the  storm : 
and,  as  these  winds  were  all  strong  and  steady,  for  many 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  135 

hours,  and  were  under  the  general  influence  of  the  whole 
storm,  and  not  affected  by  any  particular  localities,  they 
speak  a  language  which  cannot  be  mistaken. 

The  wind  could  not  blow  thus  strongly  inwards  for  many 
hours  without  moving  upwards  in  the  centre  of  convergence, 
whether  that  was  the  centre  of  the  storm  or  not ;  and  as  the 
barometer  continued  to  fall  in  the  region  of  the  storm  during 
the  whole  day,  the  air  must  have  flowed  outwards  from  the 
region  of  the  storm  above^  even  faster  at  first  than  it  flowed 
inwards  below,  otherwise  the  barometer  would  not  have 
fallen  within  the  storm. 

The  storm  was  so  nearly  round  on  the  16th  and  17th, 
that  it  would  be  an  affectation  of  accuracy  beyond  our  data, 
to  give  any  other  figure  in  the  topographical  chart.  It  was 
also  so  nearly  the  same  size  on  each  of  those  days  that  it  is 
impossible  to  say  on  which  day  it  covered  the  largest  terri- 
tory ;  the  quantity  of  rain  and  snow  known  on  the  16th  was 
small,  while  that  on  the  17th  was  very  great.  But  on  the 
18th,  it  greatly  increased  its  size,  (if  it  remained  round,)  for  on 
that  day  its  diameter  from  south  west  to  north  east,  along 
our  coast,  was  more  than  six  hundred  miles,  reaching  from 
North  Carolina  to  Maine.  Whereas  on  the  two  preceding 
days  it  was  only  about  five  hundred  in  diameter. 

From  the  16th  to  the  17th,  the  storm  travelled  towards 
the  east  or  even  a  little  south  of  east ;  for  on  the  15th,  there 
was  considerable  snow  in  the  southern  part  of  Michigan, 
and  on  the  night  of  the  16th,  and  on  the  17th,  there  was  very 
little  snow  at  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  though  Meadville  is 
on  a  lower  latitude.  But  on  the  18th,  the  storm  manifestly 
moved  towards  a  point  north  of  east,  for,  at  half  past  one, 
P.  M.,  it  began  to  snow  in  Portland,  Maine,  2°  further 
north  than  it  extended  while  in  Pennsylvania. 

Whether  this  extension  of  the  storm  further  north,  de- 
pended on  the  direction  in  which  its  centre  was  moving,  or 
on  a  general  widening  out  of  the  storm,  cannot  be  deter- 


136  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

mined ;  as  its  southern  boundaries  on  that  day  are  not 
strictly  defined  by  the  facts  collected.  It  certainly  extended 
down  to  lat.  38°  in  long.  73°,  wind  still  north  east.  And 
there  were  strong  gales  W.  S.  W.,  about  that  time,  from 
lat.  31°  to  lat.  34°.  Though  the  packet  ship  Algonquin,  in 
lat.  37°  50',  (longitude  and  time  of  day  not  given,)  says 
nothing  of  the  storm  of  that  day,  but  speaks  of  the  one 
on  the  day  before,  it  would  be  extremely  desirable  to  know 
what  her  log  book  says  of  the  storm  after  she  took  the  gale 
east  by  north,  near  the  Delaware  Capes,  at  eight,  A.  M.,  of 
the  17th,  and  then  hauled  off.  As  she  went  to  the  south, 
her  log  would  probably  be  able  to  answer  a  very  interesting 
question,  which  our  present  information  leaves  undeter- 
mined. In  what  direction  and  with  what  force  did  the  wind 
blow  on  the  south  east  side  of  the  storm  on  the  \7th  ?  * 

116.  This  storm  travelled  with  a  velocity  of  about  eighteen 
and  one  third  miles  an  hour  from  beginning  to  beginning. 
It  was  just  one  day  in  reaching  Philadelphia,  after  it  com- 
menced in  Springfield,  Ohio ;  a  distance  of  about  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  miles,  and  a  comparison  with  other 
points  agrees  well  with  this. 

There  is  one  apparent  anomaly  worthy  of  particular  no- 
tice. On  the  N.  N.  E.  of  the  storm,  eighty  or  one  hundred 
miles  beyond  its  extreme  boundary,  there  is  a  region  from 
which  the  wind  seems  to  have  blown  outwards  in  all  direc- 
tions. 

Albany  seems  to  be  included  in  this  region  —  and  if  it 
shall  be  found  that  at  Albany  and  the  towns  near  it,  or  per- 
haps as  far  West  as  Utica,  the  barometer  rose  considerably 
on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  one  step  will  be  made  in  the 

1  Any  further  information  concerning  this  storm  will  be  gladly  received. 
If  every  person  keeping  a  journal  of  the  weather  within  and  for  some  dis- 
tance beyond  its  boundary,  would  send  a  copy  of  it  for  the  15th,  16th,  17th, 
and  18th  March,  the  apparent  irregularities  of  this  storm  would  probably  be 
explained. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  137 

explanation  of  this  phenomena,  whatever  may  be  the  cause 
of  this  rise. 

But  the  most  remarkable  irregularities  of  all,  will  be 
found  at  Meadville,  Penn.,  and  Lexington,  Ky. 

Here  the  wind  seemed  to  blow  almost  in  a  tangent  to  the 
storm.  There  is  an  irregularity  somewhat  similar  to  this 
on  the  south  east  side  of  the  storm  at  New  Garden,  North 
Carolina,  where  the  wind  was  north  east  all  day,  probably 
not  strong,  as  the  force  is  not  mentioned.  In  short,  by  cast- 
ing the  eye  on  the  chart,  it  will  appear,  by  directing  the  at- 
tention to  the  north  west  side  of  the  storm,  that  the  wind 
had  a  tendency  to  rotate  from  right  to  left;  and  again,  if 
attention  be  directed  to  the  south  east  side  of  the  storm,  it 
will  appear  that  the  wind  had  a  tendency  to  rotate  from 
left  to  right  —  which  precludes  the  idea  of  a  general  rota- 
tion the  same  way  —  and  shows  that  there  was  some  cause 
which  induced  the  wind  at  the  extreme  north  west  and 
south  east  and  east,  to  move  towards  a  point  in  the  storm, 
south  of  its  centre.  These  anomalies  cannot  be  explained 
fully  by  the  facts  collected,  without  the  aid  of  hypothesis, 
and  I  do  not  permit  myself  to  hypothesise.  We  have  no 
barometrical  observations  south  of  Washington;  yet  from 
the  immense  quantity  of  rain  and  snow  which  fell  in  the 
north  west  corner  of  North  Carolina,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  a  much  greater  quantity  fell  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
storrn  than  in  the  northern. 

Besides,  as  the  barometer  fell  much  more  at  Washington 
city  than  at  Philadelphia  and  places  further  north,  it  may 
be  that  it  fell  still  more  further  south  and  west.  But  I  for- 
bear to  conjecture. 

KATIONALE. 

It  will  not  be  esteemed  by  the  reader  impertinent  in  me 
to  offer  my  views  as  to  the  modus  operandi  of  nature  in 
producing  the  various  phenomena  accompanying  the  storm 

18 


138  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

of  the  17th  March,  as  detailed  in  the  "  Report "  of  the  Me- 
teorological Committee,  and  summed  up  in  the  preceding 
statement  of  the  facts. 

The  upward  motion  of  the  air  in  the  region  of  a  storm, 
may  take  its  commencement  either  from  a  higher  tempera- 
ture, or  a  higher  dew  point. 

As  the  air  rises  in  the  inner  portions  of  the  storm,  it  is 
reduced  in  temperature  by  diminished  pressure,  a  little 
more  than  1°  for  every  hundred  yards  of  its  ascent,  as  I 
have  ascertained  by  experiment ;  and  when  it  has  ascended 
as  many  hundred  yards  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  is 
above  the  dew  point,  the  vapor  will  begin  to  condense  into 
cloud,  and  give  out  its  caloric  of  elasticity  —  this  caloric  of 
elasticity  is  received  by  the  air  in  contact  with  the  condens- 
ing vapor,  and  prevents  the  air  in  its  further  ascent  from 
cooling  as  fast  it  would,  if  there  was  no  vapor  in  the  air  to 
condense ;  and,  I  find,  both  by  calculation  and  experiment, 
that  in  ordinary  states  of  the  dew  point,  it  cools  only 
half  as  much  in  its  ascent  above  the  base  or  lower  part  of 
the  cloud,  as  it  would  do  if  no  latent  caloric  were  given 
out;  and  that  in  all  states  of  the  dew  point,  the  air  in 
the  cloud  at  the  moment  of  its  formation,  is  expanded 
about  six  thousand  six  hundred  cubic  feet  for  every  cu- 
bic foot  of  water  generated  by  the  condensed  vapor,  after 
making  allowances  for  the  condensation  of  the  vapor  itself. 

The  great  expansion  of  the  air  in  the  cloud,  will  cause  a 
rapid  ascent  and  out-spreading  above,  which  will  cause  the 
barometer  to  fall  under  the  cloud,  and  if  there  was  no  cur- 
rent above,  it  would  spread  out  on  all  sides  equally  in  an 
annulus,  and  cause  the  barometer  to  rise  all  round  the  storm, 
as  much  on  one  side  as  another.  But  as  there  is  known  to 
be  an  upper  current  always,  or  almost  always,  moving  in 
this  latitude  towards  the  north  east  or  N.  N.  E.,  this  cur- 
rent will  cause  the  out-spreading  of  the  air  to  be  chiefly  in 
that  direction,  and  consequently  the  barometer  will  rise 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE. 


139 


chiefly/on  that  side  of  the  storm,  at  the  very  time  it  is  falling 
within!  the  storm,  as  it  actually  did  in  Connecticut  and 
Rhode|  Island,  while  it  was  falling  in  Annapolis  and  Wash- 
ington1 city.  Now  if  it  should  be  found  that  the  rise  ex- 
tended to  Albany  and  Utica,  the  explanation  of  that  re- 
markable phenomenon  mentioned  before,  of  the  wind's 
blowing  outwards  in  all  directions  from  that  region,  it  will 
be  acknowledged  that  this  is  the  true  explanation  of  it.1 

If  it  should  be  found  that  the  barometer  did  not  rise  at 
these  places,  some  other  facts  may  yet  be  discovered  to  ex- 
plain the  anomaly. 

On  the  very  great  irregularities  presented  at  Meadville 
and  Lexington,  I  have  nothing  entirely  satisfactory  to  say. 
In  a  storm  of  such  great  magnitude,  many  irregularities 
might  be  expected. 

I  have  been  told  by  those  who  have  witnessed  the  phe- 
nomenon from  very  lofty  mountains,  when  it  is  raining  in 
the  valley  below  them,  that  the  top  of  the  cloud,  which 
they  could  see  spread  out  before  them,  did  not  exhibit  a 
level  plain,  but  many  pyramidal  elevations  were  to  be  seen 
rising  considerably  above  the  ordinary  level.  Now  this 

1  Since  writing  this  article,  Matthew  Webster,  Esq.,  has  given  me  the  fol- 
lowing Journal,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  barometer  actually  rose  on  the 
17th,  as  the  theory  seemed  to  indicate  it  should  at  Albany. 
MARCH,  1838. 


14—6  P.  M.  Bar.    30.05  Ther.  43£ 
15—9  A.  M.           29.98             40 
6  P.  M.           29.895           46 

43 
45£ 
43£ 

S.            light,  clear, 
N.  E.        "      cloudy, 
N.  W.       "      cloudy,  ice  in 
front  of  city  moved. 

16—9  A.  M. 

29.975 

40£ 

43 

N.         light,  clear,  river  clear. 

6  P.  M. 

30.040 

43 

39| 

N.             "      cloudy, 

snow  at  night. 

17—9  A.  M. 

30.12 

37£ 

37£ 

N.             "      cloudy. 

18—9  A.  M. 

29.95 

36i 

34 

N. 

'  snow  com.  8  A.M. 

6P.M. 

29.865 

36 

32 

N. 

1  snow. 

19—9  A.  M. 

29.700 

35£ 

37 

N. 

'  cloudy. 

6  P.  M. 

29.55 

41 

40 

N.  W. 

«  clear. 

20-9  A.  M. 

29.675 

38 

42| 

W. 

'  cloudy. 

s 

},  I  . 

140  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

seemed  to  indicates  a  more  violent  action  under  thosefeleva- 
tions  than  in  the  other  parts  —  and  if  we  conceive  t]pe  ac- 
tion very  great  as  it  is  in  all  summer  hail  storms,  in  j^hich 
the  drops  of  water  are  carried  up  to  a  great  heigh^  and 
frozen  —  the  snow  might  not  be  permitted  to  fall  Iglown 
where  it  was  generated,  but  be  carried  off  to  some  distance 
from  where  it  was  taken  up,  and  thrown  down  in  such 
quantity  as  to  cause,  by  its  weight  and  cooling  effect  to- 
gether, the  wind  to  blow  outwards  in  all  directions  from  its 
place  of  descent.  Many  such  places  might  be  formed  in  a 
storm,  five  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  and,  of  course,  many 
irregularities  be  produced,  similar  to  the  one  in  question. 
These  particular,  violent,  upmoving  currents,  and  down 
falls  of  snow  by  their  side,  would  be  very  likely  to  occur 
in  the  neighborhoods  of  hills  and  mountains.  For  the  air, 
rushing  in  towards  the  centre  of  the  general  storm,  on  com- 
ing to  a  hill,  will  glance  up  it,  and,  having  acquired  an 
upward  motion,  will  be  inclined  to  continue  it,  and  thus 
produce  the  effect  in  question.  And  if  the  hill  is  very  lofty, 
as  the  Himalayas,  the  snow  will  be  thrown  down  on  the 
windward  side  ;  but  if  it  is  of  moderate  elevation,  the  snow 
may  be  thrown  down  on  the  leeward  side.  In  the  former 
case,  the  wind  may  be  forced  down  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain on  the  windward  side  at  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
whilst  a  few  hundred  yards  high,  it  may  be  blowing  up  the 
mountain  over  that  at  the  surface  of  "the  earth  blowing 
downwards. 

It  is  also  known  that  a  violent  summer  shower  often  causes 
the  wind  to  blow  outwards  in  all  directions  from  the  falling 
shower,  when  a  few  minutes  before,  it  had  been  blowing  the 
contrary  way,  towards  the  forming  cloud,  and  the  wind  at 
some  considerable  distance  from  the  falling  shower,  still  con- 
tinues to  blow  towards  the  rain,  glancing  up  over  the  out- 
moving  current.  In  this  way,  new  columnar  clouds  are  seen 
to  form  rapidly  to  the  windward  of  the  rain  cloud.  If,  during 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  141 

the  progress  of  a  great  storm,  it  should  sometimes  snow  or 
rain  violently,  and  at  other  times  stop,  with  increase  or  dimi- 
nution of  wind,  it  might  be  safely  inferred  that  some  such 
action  as  that  just  described  is  going  on.  In  that  case,  too, 
a  person  below  the  clouds  may  sometimes  distinguish  these 
cones,  which  raise  their  tops  above  the  general  level  of  the 
cloud  above,  for  their  bases  will  be  much  blacker  than  the 
surrounding  clouds.  After  all,  we  must  wait  for  future  and 
more  abundant  facts  to  explain  these  irregularities. 

As  to  the  direction  in  which  the  storm  moved,  and  its  velo- 
city, we  have  but  little  to  say,  because  it  is  entirely  beyond 
the  power  of  the  theory  to  predict  in  what  direction  storms 
in  general  will  move.  It  is  highly  probable,  indeed,  that  very 
narrow  storms  of  great  violence,  such  as  tornadoes,  in  which 
the  drops  of  rain  are  not  permitted  to  fall  back  through  the 
ascending  current,  but  are  thrown  outwards,  at  a  great  height, 
frozen  into  hail,  will  all  be  found  to  move  in  the  direction  of 
the  upper  current  —  that  is,  westwardly,  or  towards  the  west 
in  the  torrid  zone,  northwardly  from  the  tropic  of  Cancer  to 
latitude  thirty,  and  north  easterly  or  eastwardly  in  the  lati- 
tude of  Philadelphia. 

For  the  tornado  cloud,  forming  only  when  the  dew  point 
is  very  high,  that  is  when  the  steam  power  in  the  air  is  very 
great,  (for  all  storms  are  produced  by  steam  power,)  it  will 
rise  very  high,  and  of  course  a  large  portion  of  its  upper 
part,  being  in  the  upper  current  of  air,  it  will  be  pressed  by 
that  current  in  its  own  direction.  Therefore  the  tornado,  as 
long  as  it  lasts,  must  move  in  that  direction.  But  in  case 
the  rain  falls  down  through  the  base  of  the  cloud,  as  in  ordi- 
nary showers,  the  descent  of  the  rain  produces  a  disturbing 
force  below,  and  the  accumulation  of  drops  of  rain  in  the 
cloud  prevents  the  cloud  from  rising  so  high  into  the  upper 
current  as  in  the  tornado  cloud,  and  besides  the  air,  on  the 
northern  border  of  the  storm  being  colder  and  of  a  lower  dew 
point,  will,  by  its  greater  weight,  have  a  tendency  to  press 


142  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  storm  towards  the  south,  and  these  forces  not  being  ex- 
actly known  in  quantity,  we  must  wait  till  a  patient  induc- 
tion from  accumulated  facts  shall  solve  this  most  interesting 
problem. 

Another  highly  interesting  question  can  only  be  answered 
by  very  numerous  observations  with  the  barometer.  How 
far  is  the  snow  and  rain  carried  by  the  out-moving  current 
above,  beyond  the  up-moving  current  in  the  middle  of  the 
storm  ? 

This  distance  will  no  doubt  vary  with  the  violence  of  the 
storm.  In  a  case  of  great  violence,  if  the  storm  is  quite  nar- 
row, the  upward  current  in  the  middle  may  be  so  great  that 
the  snow  or  rain  may  not  be  permitted  to  fall  in  the  centre 
of  the  up-moving  current  at  all  —  but  be  compelled  to  pass 
outward  above  in  all  directions,  and  fall  down  in  an  annulus, 
where  the  barometer  may  even  be  above  the  mean,  and  rise 
during  the  fall.  Something  of  this  kind  seems  to  have  taken 
place  in  the  present  storm,  in  the  northern  part  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, extending  from  Sunbury  and  Silver  Lake,  even  as  far 
down  into  the  centre  of  the  state  as  Bellefonte.  For,  at  the 
two  former  places  the  barometer  did  not  fall  at  all,  and  at 
the  latter  its  fall  was  hardly  sensible.  At  these  places,  there- 
fore, it  is  highly  probable,  there  was  no  upward  current  of 
air,  and  consequently  the  snow  which  fell  there,  must  have 
been  generated  at  a  distance.  How  far  this  fall  of  snow 
may  have  been,  not  only  the  cause  of  the  irregularities  at 
Silver  Lake  and  Meadville,  which  were  mentioned  before, 
and  of  the  very  gentle  winds  about  this  region,  but  also  of 
the  general  tendency  of  the  winds  to  move  on  the  east  and 
west  side  of  the  storm  towards  a  point  south  of  the  centre, 
it  is  not  necessary  for  me  now  to  determine ;  at  present  it  is 
sufficient  to  have  pointed  out  this  source  of  irregularity, 
and  leave  it  to  future  investigation  to  determine  its  exact 
amount. 
Another  highly  important  question  is  suggested  here — how 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  143 

far  beyond  the  boundary  of  the  falling  rain  or  snow  in  these 
wide  extended  storms,  does  the  wind  blow  inwards  towards 
the  storm?  And  how  long  before  the  beginning  of  the  rain  or 
snow,  does  the  wind  change  in  front  of  the  storm?  It  seems 
probable  that  the  time  and  distance  to  which  the  in-blowing 
extends,  will  be  directly  as  the  magnitude  of  the  storm,  and 
the  facts  ascertained  are  favorable  to  this  deduction.  At 
Philadelphia,  the  wind  changed  round  by  N.  to  N.  E.  exactly 
twenty-four  hours  before  the  rain  commenced.  At  Middle- 
town,  Conn.,  the  wind  changed  about  twenty-four  hours  be- 
fore the  storm  came  on.  At  New  Bedford  and  Northborough, 
Mass.,  and  at  Providence,  R.  L,  the  wind  changed  round  from 
thirty  to  forty  hours  before  the  commencement  of  the  snow. 
But  in  no  case  did  it  become  so  violent  as  to  attract  much  at- 
tention, until  within  a  few  hours  of  the  commencement  of  the 
rain  or  snow.  I  say  rain  or  snow,  for  in  the  northern  parts 
of  this  storm,  it  was  snow,  and  in  the  southern  parts,  rain  and 
hail.  And  it  is  worthy  of  particular  remark,  that  during  the 
whole  progress  of  this  storm,  as  far  as  our  observations  reach, 
the  wind  was  most  violent  on  the  north  east  of  the  storm,  and 
least  violent  on  the  south  west  of  it.  This  is  what  we  ought 
to  expect  from  the  rise  of  the  barometer  on  the  north  east 
side  of  the  storm,  as  mentioned  before.  I  have  in  my  pos- 
session proofs  that  this  is  the  case  in  some  other  wide  ex- 
tended storms;  further  investigation  must  decide  whether 
this  is  the  case  in  all  such  storms. 

Even  in  those  very  narrow  storms  called  Spouts,  I  have 
been  informed,  by  eye  witnesses,  that  some  have  the  trees 
thrown  down  contrary  to.  the  motion  of  the  spout  along  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  Such  has  not  been  the  fact  in  those 
spouts  which  I  have  visited.  In  all  1  found  the  tops  of  the 
trees  on  the  south  side  of  the  spout  lying  towards  the  north 
east,  on  the  north  side  towards  the  south  east,  and  if  occa- 
sionally trees  were  lying  across,  those  underneath  were 
thrown  inwards  and  backwards,  and  those  on  top  were 


144  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

thrown  inwards  and  forwards.  The  Brunswick  spout  of 
the  19th  of  June,  1835,  affords  a  well  known  example  of 
this,  an  account  of  which  is  given  by  A.  D.  Bache,  President 
of  the  Girard  College,  in  the  transactions  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  and  also  by  Professor  W.  R.  Johnston, 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Na- 
tural Sciences.  (See  Sect.  VII.) 

Another  remarkable  fact  will  not  escape  the  observation 
of  the  reader  who  examines  with  care  the  report  of  this 
storm.  The  wind  on  the  16th,  before  very  much  rain  and 
snow  had  fallen,  was  every  where  feeble  and  irregular,  and 
especially  so  in  the  New  England  States ;  but  on  the  17th, 
when  much  rain  and  snow  had  already  fallen,  the  wind  be- 
came strong,  and  the  irregularities  nearly  ceased.  So  on  the 
western  border  of  the  storm,  at  Wilmington,  for  instance, 
the  wind  was  much  stronger  on  the  17th  than  it  had  been 
on  the  16th. 

The  several  links  of  our  chain  of  argument  may  now  be 
exhibited  in  juxtaposition. 

1.  The  air  did  blow  inwards  towards  a  region  not  far 
from  the  southern  border  of  the  storm. 

2.  The  air  did  therefore  ascend  over  that  region. 

3.  It  cooled  a  little  more  than  one  degree  of  Fahrenheit 
for  every  hundred  yards  of  its  ascent,  as  is  known  by  ex- 
periment. 

4.  When  it  ascended  as  many  hundred  yards  as  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air  was  above  the  dew  point,  the  vapor  in 
the  air  would  begin  to  condense  into  cloud. 

5.  When  the  vapor  began  to  condense,  its  caloric  of  elas- 
ticity would  be  given  out  to  the  air  in  contact  with  the  con- 
densing vapor. 

6.  This  caloric  of  elasticity  would  change  the  law  of 
cooling,  in  ordinary  states  of  the  dew  point,  from  one  de- 
gree for  a  hundred  yards  of  the  ascent  to  one  half  a  degree, 
so  that  the  air  in  the  cloud,  was  one  half  a  degree  warmer 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  145 

than  the  air  on  the  outside  of  the  cloud,  for  every  hundred 
yards  above  its  basis. 

7.  The  specific  gravity  of  the  cloud  will  thus  be  less  than 
that  of  the  air  at  the  same  height,  a  quantity  which  can  be 
calculated  if  the  dew  point  and  the  height  of  the  cloud  are 
given. 

8.  The  air  in  the  cloud  will  therefore  move  upwards  in 
the  middle,  and  outwards  above,  and  inwards  below,  with 
a  depression  of  the  barometer  under  the  cloud,  and  a  rise 
all  round  the  cloud,  produced  by  the  outspreading  of  the  air 
above. 

9.  If  the  depression  of  the  barometer  is  given,  the  velocity 
of  the  upward  motion  will  be  known,  at  least  in  the  case  of 
tornadoes  or  spouts. 

10.  If  the  velocity  of  upward  motion  is  known,  the  quan- 
tity of  vapor  condensed  in  a  given  time  is  known. 

11.  The  commencement  of  this  upward  motion  may  de- 
pend either  on  a  higher  temperature,  or  a  higher  dew  point 
than  in  surrounding  regions. 

12.  The  barometer  would  probably  rise  more  on  the  north 
east  side  of  the  storm  than  on  any  other  side,  on  account  of 
the  general  motion  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  atmosphere, 
being  towards  the  north  east  in  this  latitude. 

P.  S.  A  journal  of  the  weather  for  the  month  of  March, 
1838,  was  kept  at  St.  Mary's  College,  Frederick  Co.,  (Md.) 
by  Professor  Elder,  and  it  appears  by  it  that  the  wind  was 
very  violent  all  day  on  the  17th,  from  north  west  to  north, 
with  but  little  depression  of  the  barometer,  l-10th  inch  from 
the  16th. 

The  wind  on  the  18th  was  still  very  strong  N.  N.  W.,  and 
it  did  not  entirely  cease  snowing  till  about  two  o'clock.  Mr. 
Elder  thinks  if  it  had  been  all  snow  and  no  rain,  it  would 
have  been  three  feet  deep. 

I  have  also  received  a  letter  from  Professor  G.  W.  Keely, 
of  Waterville,  Maine,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  wind 

19 


146  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

was  north  west  on  the  17th,  nearly  clear,  some  clouds  in  the 
south.  The  barometer  rose  33  one  hundredths  of  an  inch  from 
the  16th,  and  there  was  a  little  snow  at  two  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of 
the  18th,  and  the  barometer  did  not  fall  much  till  the  19th. 

In  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  Henry  Connor,  of  North  Caro- 
lina, in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  a  little  west  of  the 
middle,  he  says  —  "I  was  not  at  home  when  the  storm  took 
place,  but  it  was  very  severe,  as  much  timber  was  blown 
down  :  and  the  wind  must  have  been  from  the  south,  as  the 
tops  of  the  trees  were  all  lying  toward  the  north. 

Arrow  No.  18|  is  added  to  the  chart  from  Mr.  Connor's 
letter,  and  if  the  reader  will  add  one  for  Professor  Elder's 
account,  at  Frederick,  Md.,  the  phenomenon  of  the  inward 
motion  of  the  wind  toward  the  centre  of  the  storm  becomes 
very  decided.1 

Directions.  —  By  the  Joint  Committee. 

117.  Thermometer.  —  The  thermometer  should  be  placed 
in  a  situation  screened  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
also  as  free  as  possible  from  the  contact,  reflection  and  ra- 
diation, of  surrounding  bodies.  If  a  place  free  from  radia- 
tion cannot  be  procured,  the  effect  of  radiation  may  be  ob- 
viated by  swinging  the  instrument  briskly  in  the  air,  or  fan- 
ning it  where  it  hangs.  The  self-registering  thermometer 
should  be  placed  in  a  horizontal  position  out  of  doors,  and 
screened  from  the  open  sky;  the  lowest  temperature  to 
which  it  sinks  in  the  twenty-four  hours  should  be  noted. 
From  this  temperature,  and  the  two  o'clock  observation, 
the  mean  is  obtained. 

Some  time,  during  the  warmest  part  of  the  day,  the  instru- 
ment should  be  held  with  the  bulb  uppermost,  until  the  en- 
amel index  descends  to  the  extremity  of  the  liquid  in  the  tube. 

1  The  above  condensed  Statement  of  the  Facts,  and  Rationale,  were  written 
by  the  author  in  his  individual  capacity,  and  had  not  the  sanction  of  the  Com- 
mittee. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOIJNT   COMMITTEE.  147 

The  Barometer  —  Should  be  hung  perpendicularly,  and 
the  screw  at  the  lower  end  loosened,  until  the  mercury 
ceases  to  fall.  When  taking  an  observation,  the  barometer 
should  always  be  slightly  agitated  or  patted,  to  obviate  the 
effects  of  friction.  The  movable  index  or  vernier  should  then 
be  set  to  the  top  of  the  mercury,  and  its  height  be  read  off 
to  the  nearest  ^  of  an  inch.  Daring  the  passage  of  storms, 
it  will  be  highly  important  to  note,  as  near  as  may  be,  the 
moment  of  greatest  depression. 

Wind  and  Clouds.  —  The  wind  and  clouds  should  both  be 
noted  in  the  direction  from  which  they  are  coming:  thus, 
if  both  proceed  from  the  west,  they  should  be  marked  ^  ; 
and  if  the  wind  should  be  east,  and  the  clouds  from  the 
south  west,  they  should  be  marked  ^,  the  lower  letters 
always  denoting  the  wind,  arid  the  upper  letters  the  clouds. 
Also  the  force  of  the  wind  and  velocity  of  the  clouds  may 
be  denoted  by  the  figures,  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5 :  0  signifying  a 
calm,  or  no  motion  in  the  clouds;  1,  a  very  gentle  breeze, 
or  a  very  slow  motion  in  the  clouds ;  and  so  on  till  5,  which 
signifies  a  very  strong  gale.  According  to  the  same  scale, 
a  tornado  would  be  marked  10. 

For  example,  should  the  wind  be  a  moderate  breeze  from 
the  north,  and  the  clouds  moderately  fast  from  the  W.  S.  W., 
the  whole  would  be  marked  w-^- 2 ;  and  should  the  air  be 
nearly  calm  below,  and  the  clouds  very  fast,  all  in  the  same 
direction  as  before,  it  would  be  noted  w^' ^' 5  \  ^llt  m  case 
there  should  be  two  or  three  currents  of  clouds,  the 
fact  must  be  noticed  among  the  general  observations,  or 
thus,  JLJL  •  the  uppermost  letter  denoting  the  upper  clouds, 
the  middle  letter  the  lower  clouds  and  the  lowest  letter  the 
wind ;  the  velocity  of  each  current  being  expressed  by 
numbers  as  above. 

The  Dew  Point.  —  For  the  method  of  finding  dew  point, 
see  first  circular  (98). 

Clearness  of  Shy.  —  The  clearness  of  the  sky  may  be 


148  PHILOSOPHY  OF    STORMS. 

designated  by  the  figures,  0,  13  2,  3,  4,  5,  &c. :  0  signifying 
entire  cloudiness;  1,  a  very  small  portion  of  clear  sky ; 
and  10,  entire  clearness.  To  save  room,  the  numbers  ex- 
pressive of  clearness  may  registered  in  the  same  column 
with  the  barometrical  observations.  For  example,  if  the 
barometer  should  be  at  30.10,  and  the  sky  half  clear,  or  5, 
this  should  be  marked,  in  the  column  headed  "  barometer,37 

30.10 
5     ' 

Rain  Guage.  —  The  rain  guage  should  be  placed  in  some 
position  near  the  ground,  where  it  will  receive  the  rain,  let 
the  wind  blow  from  whatever  direction  it  may.  The  height 
of  this  instrument,  above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  ground, 
should  be  mentioned  in  the  first  monthly  report.  As  soon 
as  possible  after  a  rain,  the  water  collected  in  the  receiver 
should  be  measured  in  the  glass  tube,  which  is  graduated, 
so  as  to  read  to  thousandths  of  an  inch  of  rain  falling  into 
the  guage.  In  cold  weather,  the  receiver  may  be  surrounded 
with  straw,  to  prevent  the  water  from  freezing  immediately. 

Where  the  precipitation  consists  of  snow,  it  is  usual  to 
estimate  one  foot  in  depth  as  equal  to  one  inch  of  water. 

General  Observations.  —  Under  this  head  should  be  noted 
all  remarkabe  phenomena  which  cannot  be  inserted  in  the 
regular  columns,  such  as  any  sudden  change  of  wind  or 
temperature  ;  times  of  clouding,  with  the  varieties  of  clouds 
prevailing  through  the  day ;  halos,  auroras,  fogs,  thunder 
storms,  near  or  remote,  silent  lightning,  with  its  direction 
and  elevation  above  the  horizon,  &c. 


Hints  to  Observers  on  Meteorology. 

118.  The  legislature  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  at 
their  last  session,  appropriated  four  thousand  dollars  for  the 
advancement  of  meteorology,  and  out  of  this  sum,  which 
has  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Meteorology  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  and 
Franklin  Institute,  a  barometer,  two  common  thermometers. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  149 

a  self-registering  thermometer,  and  a  rain-guage,  have  been 
purchased  for  each  county  in  the  State,  which  are  to  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  some  skilful  observer,  who  shall  vol- 
unteer to  keep  a  journal  of  the  weather  according  to  a 
common  form  prescribed  by  the  committee. 

My  principal  object  in  writing  these  hints  is,  not  merely 
to  assist  our  correspondents  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
but  to  induce  many  others  to  keep  journals  of  the  weather 
according  to  their  means,  and  thus  contribute  their  mite 
towards  enabling  the  committee  to  find  out  the  course  that 
storms  take  over  the  surface  of  the  earth  in  all  the  different 
seasons  of  the  year,  and,  consequently,  their  velocity  and 
shape,  with  the  force  and  direction  of  the  wind  in  their  bor- 
ders, both  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  in  the  region  of 
the  clouds.  Now,  as  these  primary  and  highly  important 
observations  may  be  made  without  instruments,  I  beg  that 
no  gentleman  to  whom  this  circular  is  sent,  may  be  deterred 
from  keeping  a  journal  of  the  weather  from  an  idea  that  his 
observations  can  be  of  but  little  avail. 

If  he  faithfully  records  all  the  phenomena  of  the  weather, 
particularly  of  the  winds,  clouds,  and  rains,  it  will  be  of  in- 
calculable advantage  in  the  further  investigation  of  storms. 

119.  To  those  who  have  a  thermometer,  it  will  be  inter- 
esting to  know  that  the  height  of  the  base  of  those  clouds 
(which  generally  form  in  a  summer  day,  when  the  heavens 
are  not  overspread  with  clouds,  and  disappear  in  the  night; 
and  which,  when  large  and  well  formed,  have  broad,  flat, 
dark  bases,  with  tops  as  white  as  snow,  and  rising  some- 
times to  a  great  height  at  the  top,  while  the  base  continues 
on  the  same  level,  assuming  the  appearance  of  a  cone)  can 
be  ascertained  in  the  two  following  ways  : 

1st.  Find  the  dew  point  in  the  manner  directed  by  the  com- 
mittee in  their  printed  instructions  (98),  and  the  difference 
between  this  and  the  temperature  of  the  air  at  that  time  is 
called  the  complement  of  the  dew  point. 


150  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

• 

This  complement  being  multiplied  by  100  will  give  the 
height  of  the  base  of  the  clouds  in  question  in  yards,  nearly. 

2d.  Put  a  thin,  white,  wet  rag  round  the  bulb  and  lower 
end  of  the  thermometer,  and  swing  it  briskly  in  the  air, 
and  ascertain  the  greatest  distance  or  number  of  de- 
grees it  will  sink  below  the  temperature  of  the  air ;  this 
number  is  called  the  complement  of  the  wet  bulb :  now, 
10300  times  this  complement  being  divided  by  the  wet- 
bulb  temperature,  will  give  the  height  of  the  base  of  the 
same  clouds  in  yards,  nearly.1 

When  the  difference  of  the  temperature  of  the  air  and 
that  of  the  dew  point  amounts  to  20°  or  21°,  or  if  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  is  colder  than  the  air,  it  is  believed 
these  clouds  hardly  appear,  or,  if  they  do  appear,  are  very 

1  When  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  near  the  freezing  point,  great  care 
must  be  taken  that  the  bulb  of  the  thermometer  be  covered  either  with  a  film 
of  ice  or  snow  entirely  frozen,  or  wet  rag  entirely  unfrozen ;  for  if  the  water 
of  the  wet  rag  is  freezing,  or  the  film  of  ice  thawing,  t.he  true  wet  bulb  tem- 
perature cannot  be  obtained.  When  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  a  little  above 
the  freezing  point,  and  the  dew  point  greatly  below  it,  the  wet  bulb  may 
sometimes  be  obtained  without  freezing  as  low  as  27°,  or  5°  below  the  freezing 
point ;  and,  in  such  cases,  I  have  found  that  the  wet  bulb  was  exactly  at  the 
game  temperature  as  the  bulb  surrounded  with  a  film  of  ice,  allowance  being 
made  for  the  difference  of  the  thermometers.  From  this  experiment  it  ap- 
pears that  about  one  seventh  less  evaporation  goes  on  from  ice  than  from  wa- 
ter at  the  same  temperature  ;  for  the  caloric  of  fluidity  of  water  is  about  one 
seventh  of  the  caloric  of  elasticity  of  steam. 

Those  of  our  correspondents  who  live  in  very  cold  localities,  have  it  in  their 
power  to  perform  a  very  interesting  experiment,  which  I  recommend  to  their 
special  attention.  From  it  the  lowest  degree  at  which  vapor  can  exist  may 
be  nearly  determined. 

When  the  temperature  is  very  low,  examine  how  near  two  thermometers 
agree  ;  dip  one  of  them  in  water,  and  draw  it  out  immediately  ;  it  will  be  sur- 
rounded with  a  film  of  ice  ;  place  it  in  the  same  locality,  and  note  whether  it 
sinks  lower  than  the  other  :  if  not,  no  vapor  rises  from  the  ice,  and,  there- 
fore, if  the  air  is  clear  at  the  lime,  vapor  does  not  exist  in  the  atmosphere  at 
that  temperature.  All  experiments  with  the  thermometer,  at  such  low  tem- 
peratures particularly,  require  great  care  —  the  radiation  from  the  body,  and 
the  influence  of  the  breath,  should  be  guarded  against  as  much  as  possible. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  151 

short.  It  may  be  added  that  this  is  the  cloud  which  forms 
the  thunder  shower  in  summer,  and  is  known  in  the  books 
by  the  name  of  cumulus.  When  this  cloud  rises  with  its 
top  to  a  considerable  height,  it  frequently  enables  the  ob- 
server to  ascertain  the  direction  of  the  upper  current  of  air, 
for  the  top  of  the  cloud  will  lean  in  the  direction  of  that 
current. 

120.  Our  correspondents  will  be  richly  rewarded  by  ob- 
serving this  cloud  with  great  care.     It  generally  begins  in 
clear  days  to  form  (when  the  complement  of  the  dew  point 
is  not  great)  pretty  early  in  the  morning,  and  as  generally 
disappears  in  the  evening;  sometimes  it  appears  thin  and 
ragged  in  its  borders,  and  sometimes  its  borders  are  well 
defined,  and  its  top  and  sides  as  white  and  apparently  as 
dense  as  snow.     The  tops  of  very  lofty  ones  generally  lean 
towards  the  east  or  north  of  east  at  Philadelphia,  because 
this  is  the  direction  in  which  the  upper  current  moves ; 
and,  from  the  theory  of  the  trade  winds,  it  is  presumed  that 
in  the  latitude  of  New  Orleans   the   tops   generally   lean 
towards  the  north,  and  in  lower  latitudes  towards  the  north 
west.     When  the  wind  is  from  the  south  west  they  are 
more  likely  at  Philadelphia  to  rise  higher  and  lean  less. 

121.  Sometimes  they  are  observed  to  swell  out  above,  as 
if  they  were  blown  with  a  large  bellows  below  ;  and  occa- 
sionally, in  such  times,  a  thin  film  of  cloud  is  seen  to  form 
in  the  clear  sky  above  them,  at  a  short  distance,  which 
gradually,  by  the  upward  motion  of  the  cloud  below,  is 
overtaken  by  that  cloud,  and  then  seems  to  spread  over  it, 
as  a  thin  veil  over  a  bank  of  snow.     This  thin  cloud  is 
formed  by  the  upward  motion  of  the  other  lifting  up  the 
air  above  it,  and  cooling  it  by  expansion,  and  is  denomi- 
nated a  cap.     When  these  caps  form,  it  generally  rains. 
Is  there  any  thing  in  the  appearance  of  these  clouds  while 
forming  which  will  indicate  whether  they  will  rain  or  not 
with  absolute  certainty?     When  the  top  of  this  cloud  rises 
to  a  very  great  perpendicular  height,  the  barometer  un- 


152  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

derneath  the  base  sinks  proportionally,  and  the  upward 
motion  of  the  air  in  the  middle  of  the  cloud  is  sometimes 
so  great  as  to  carry  up  the  drops  of  rain  above  the  region 
of  perpetual  congelation,  and  throw  them  out  on  both 
sides  of  the  cloud  frozen  into  hail.1  Does  hail  of  great 
size  ever  come  down  through  the  base  of  the  cloud  ?  And 
when  a  summer  cloud  begins  to  rain  down  through  its 
base,  does  it  always  stop  the  upward  current  in  the  middle 
of  the  cloud,  and  finally  invert  it,  causing  the  air  to  move 
downward  in  the  middle  of  the  rain,  and  outwards  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  contrary  to  the  motion  it  had  inwards 
while  the  cloud  was  forming?  Or  does  the  air  sometimes, 
even  after  the  commencement  of  the  rain,  continue  to  run 
in  under  the  base  of  the  cloud  round  the  borders  of  the 
rain,  glancing  up  over  air  pressed  downwards  in  the  centre, 
and  outwards  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  by  the  weight  of 
the  rain  and  its  cooling  effect  on  the  air  through  which  it 
passes  ?  If  the  latter  is  sometimes  the  case,  in  what  direc- 
tion does  the  rain  then  move  along  the  surface  of  the  earth? 
If  the  former  is  sometimes  or  always  the  case,  then,  as 
the  individual  cloud  will  of  course  cease  to  rain  in  a  short 
time,  how  is  the  rain  continued?  If  it  is  by  new  clouds 
springing  up  in  its  borders,  do  these  new  clouds  generally 

1  The  velocity  of  this  upward  motion  may  be  calculated  by  an  observer, 
over  whom  the  middle  of  the  cloud  passes,  by  the  following  formula :  Note 
the  height  of  the  barometer  at  the  moment  of  the  calm  which  precedes  the 
storm,  and  also  at  the  moment  of  the  calm  in  the  middle  of  the  storm;  take 
the  difference  in  inches ;  eight  times  the  square  root  of  900  times  this  dif- 
ference will  be  the  velocity  in  feet  per  second  of  the  upward  motion  of  the 
air  in  the  centre  of  the  storm,  nearly.  For  example  :  if  the  barometer  should 
sink  one  inch  in  the  centre  of  the  storm,  the  velocity  upwards  in  that  centre 
would  be  8  X  V  900  X  1  =  240  feet  per  second.  This  formula  is  founded  on 
the  fact  that  nine  hundred  feet  of  air  in  height  weighs  about  as  much  as  an 
inch  of  mercury,  and  then  the  formula  for  spouting  fluids  applies.  No  al- 
lowance is  to  be  made  for  resistance,  as  the  up-moving  column  passes  through 
the  surrounding  air  ;  for  it  is  known  by  experiment,  that  water,  under  a  given 
head  of  pressure,  flows  through  an  aperture  with  the  same  velocity  as  into 
air,  its  velocity  depending  entirely  on  the  head  of  pressure. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  153 

form  on  the  south  or  south  west  side  of  the  parent  cloud, 
where  the  dew  point  is  generally  highest  in  this  latitude  1 
and,  in  this  case,  does  the  rain  travel  in  the  same  direction 
as  in  the  other  ? 

If  it  should  be  found  that  some  rains  travel  towards  the 
south  or  south  west,  in  consequence  of  the  cold  air,  through 
which  rain  has  passed,  pressing  in  that  direction,  and  the 
warm  air,  with  a  high  dew  point,  coming  from  the  south- 
west, glancing  up  over  it,  as  over  a  mountain  ;  how  are 
these  rains  to  be  distinguished  from  the  others?  Does  the 
rain  vary  in  its  direction  and  velocity  along  the  surface  of 
the  earth  with  the  different  seasons  of  the  year?  and  is 
there  any  general  law  on  this  subject? 

It  would  be  highly  useful  to  note  the  time  when  these 
columnar  clouds  begin  to  form  in  the  morning,  and  when 
they  disappear  in  the  evening ;  and  let  those  who  live  near 
a  mountain  test  the  rule  given  above  for  finding  the  height 
of  the  base  of  these  clouds,  by  noticing  how  the  complement 
of  the  dew  point  increases  in  the  morning,  as  the  clouds  rise 
higher  and  higher  up  the  side  of  the  mountain. 

122.  On  this  point  the  following  plan  maybe  adopted; 
Let  the  observer  previously  take  his  barometer  with  him  up 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  mark  how  much  it  falls  at 
particular  places,    which  can   be   distinguished   from   the 
valley  below,  where  the  observer  lives ;  and  then  let  him 
observe  whether  the  complement  of  the  dew  point  is  four 
degrees   for   every   inch   of   mercury   that  the   barometer 
would  fall  on  being  elevated  to  the  base  of  the  cloud.     By 
a  great  number  of  such  observations,  carefully  made,  the 
rule  given  above  may  be  corrected  if  it  should  be  found 
not  exactly  accurate. 

123.  It  will  also  be  very  important  to  note  the  direction 
of  a  very  lofty  cloud  (which  seems  to  be  formed  out  of  the 
top  of  a  rain  cloud,)  very  thin  and  fibrous,  called  in  the 

20 


154  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

books  cirrus ;  but  which  is  very  generally  known  by  the 
name  of  haze. 

This  cloud,  at  Philadelphia,  nearly  always  comes  from 
some  western  or  south  western  point ;  and  it  is  believed, 
both  from  theory  and  numerous  observations,  that,  when  a 
rain  is  going  on  at  the  north  west,  it  becomes  more  western, 
or  even  north  of  west.  The  cause  of  this  is  manifestly  the 
outspreading  of  the  cloud,  which  protrudes  the  air  outwards 
in  an  annulus  all  round  the  region  of  the  cloud,  at  the  height 
of  the  cloud  itself.  This  protrusion  of  the  cloud  is  some- 
times manifest  from  the  shape  of  the  thunder  storm  cloud, 
especially  the  hail  cloud,  spreading  out  at  the  top  like  a 
mushroom,  or  hour-glass ;  and,  in  such  cases,  the  precipita- 
tions of  hail  and  rain  are  seen  falling  from  the  outspread 
annulus  into  the  clear  air  below.  The  height  of  this  annu- 
lus is  great,  but  not  exactly  known. 

These  points,  therefore,  require  further  observation  and 
confirmation. 

When  any  sudden  change  in  the  wind  takes  place,  let 
the  time  and  direction  be  carefully  noted.  And  when  a 
tornado  occurs,  run  to  the  barometer  and  mark  the  lowest 
point  to  which  it  sinks,  and  the  time  it  takes  to  rise  a 
given  quantity  after  the  passage  of  the  tornado.  Also,  if 
any  remarkable  tornadoes  happen,  or  have  happened,  in 
your  neighborhood,  visit  the  ground  where  they  have 
passed,  and  see  in  what  manner  the  trees  have  been  thrown 
down.  In  the  Brunswick  tornado,  in  1835,  June  19,  all 
the  trees  were  thrown  with  their  tops  inwards,  and  gen- 
erally forwards ;  if  some  were  occasionally  thrown  back- 
wards, they  were  invariably  found  to  be  underneath  those 
which  were  thrown  forwards,  when  any  were  lying  across, 
and  those  trees  underneath,  it  is  believed,  were  the  most 
easily  thrown  down.  Let  this  point  be  examined  as  to 
other  tornadoes  or  spouts.  In  the  Brunswick  spout,  a  vein 
of  hail  fell,  not  in  the  path  of  the  spout,  which  was  not 


LABORS   OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  155 

more  than  three  hundred  or  four  hundred  yards  wide,  but 
at  some  distance  from  it,  in  a  zone  on  the  north  side,  along 
with  the  shingles  which  were  taken  up  from  Brunswick, 
extending  more  than  twenty  miles  beyond  Brunswick,  and 
fifteen  miles  north  east  of  Amboy,  where  the  spout  disap- 
peared at  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

Does  the  hail  or  rain  in  spouts  always  fall  on  the  north 
side,  or  does  it  sometimes  fall  on  both  sides  of  the  path  of 
the  spout  ? 

If  there  is  any  thing  remarkable  in  your  locality  as  to 
mountains,  please  to  mention  it  in  your  first  journal. 

During  the  progress  of  a  storm,  take  frequent  observa- 
tions, especially  noting  the  time  of  the  heaviest  fall  of  rain, 
hail,  or  snow,  the  maximum  and  minimum  of  the  barome- 
ter ;  any  change  of  wind  in  strength  or  direction,  and  so  of 
the  clouds. 

124.  The  barometer  generally  stands  lowest  near  tbe  mid- 
dle or  end  of  storms,  and  not  unfrequently,  in  the  winter 
months,  suddenly  rises  about  two  days  before  the  com- 
mencement of  a  great  storm.  This  is  a  highly  interesting 
point  for  further  examination.  Is  this  rise  caused  by  the 
outpouring  of  the  air  above  a  storm  raging  at  that  time  in 
the  south  west,  carried  especially  to  the  north  east  by  the 
upper  current  of  air? 

At  the  termination  of  our  great  north  east  winter  storms, 
which  are  known  to  move  from  the  westward  to  eastward, 
with  a  velocity  of  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  an 
hour,  the  wind  frequently  changes  round,  sometimes  one 
way  and  sometimes  the  other,  and  settles  in  the  north-west; 
while  the  clouds  above  continue  to  come  with  increased 
velocity  from  the  south  west.  Let  this  point  be  noted  ;  and 
if  there  is  any  general  law  on  this  or  any  other  subject  of 
meteorology,  already  known  in  your  locality,  mention  it  in 
your  first  journal.  It  is  believed  that  during  the  whole 
progress  of  these  north  east  storms  at  Philadelphia,  the  up- 


156  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

permost  clouds  are  coming  from  the  south  west.  Indeed, 
these  north  east  storms  are  frequently  announced,  not  only 
by  a  sudden  rise  of  the  barometer,  as  just  mentioned,  but 
by  a  hazy  cloud  rising  in  the  south  west  opposite  to  a  north 
east  wind. 

125.  When  a  summer  storm  passes  in  sight,  note  the  phe- 
nomena. Not  unfrequently  the  barometer  rises  in  the  bor- 
ders of  the  storm,  and,  during  the  rain  or  hail,  the  wind 
blows  outwards  from  the  centre  of  the  shower.  It  is  very 
desirable  to  know  to  what  distance  this  outward  wind  and 
rise  of  the  barometer  reach,  and  what  effect  it  has  in  gene- 
rating new  clouds,  by  the  warm  moist  air  blowing  up  over 
it.  The  dew  point  frequently  falls  by  this  outspreading  of 
the  air  below,  reaching  an  observer  at  some  distance  from 
a  rain,  and  thus  becomes  a  forerunner  of  an  approaching 
shower,  generated  in  the  manner  indicated  above. 

If  a  mountain  were  suddenly  elevated  by  volcanic  agency 
across  our  country  from  north  west  to  south  east,  it  would 
become  the  immediate  cause  of  rain,  by  the  air  rising  up 
over  it  as  it  blows  from  the  south  west.  Every  thunder 
shower  produces  a  mass  of  cold  heavy  air,  through  which 
the  drops  of  rain  or  hail  have  passed,  tending  to  produce  a 
new  shower  on  the  windward  side  of  this  cold  mass,  just 
as  a  mountain  would  do.  To  investigate  all  the  phenomena 
of  this  summer  shower,  forms  no  inconsiderable  part  of  our 
present  object.  I  hope  next  year,  if  Congress  should  this 
winter  lend  their  powerful  aid  to  this  important  undertaking, 
to  be  able  to  investigate  our  great  north  east  winter  storms 
in  like  manner ;  for  our  wide  extended  territory  is  peculiarly 
suited  to  this  investigation.  At  present,  we  neither  know 
the  size  nor  the  shape  of  these  storms ;  though  the  direction 
in  which  they  move,  and  their  velocity,  are  better  known 
than  those  of  any  other  storms,  with  the  exception  of  the  sum- 
mer tornadoes,  which  nearly  all  move  from  the  south  west  or 
W.  S.  W.  in  this  latitude.  Indeed,  it  seems  probable,  that 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  157 

these  tornadoes  can  only  occur  when  the  wind  is  from  the 
south  west ;  for,  if  the  wind  is  in  any  other  direction,  a 
cloud  reaching  from  the  ground  to  so  great  a  height  as  a 
tornado  cloud,  even  if  it  could  be  formed,  would  probably 
be  cut  in  two  by  having  its  upper  end  pressed  over  to  the 
north  east,  and  its  lower  end  driven  in  the  direction  of  the 
wind  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  ;  and  thus  not  even  a  thun- 
der storm  could  be  formed,  much  less  a  tornado,  which  re- 
quires a  cloud  of  immense  perpendicular  height  and  depth. 
This,  however,  being  a  deduction  of  theory,  requires  further 
confirmation  by  observation. 

126.  Even  in  cases  where  the  wind  below  moves  towards 
the  north  east,  but  with  a  slower  motion  than  the  upper- 
most current,  it  seems  probable  that  a  cloud,  which  is  formed 
by  an  up-moving  column  of  air,  may  sometimes  be  pressed 
on  towards  the  north  east  by  the  upper  air  faster  than  the 
up-moving  column  can  move  in  that  direction,  and  thus  its 
connection  with  the  up-moving  column  be  cut  off.     This 
cloud  will  then  cease  to  enlarge,  and,  if  the  column  of  heated 
air  under  the  cloud  should  remain  unbroken,  another  will 
begin  to  form  to  the  south  west  of  it,  and  so  of  a  third  and 
a  fourth  :  and,   in  this  case,  should  the  range  of  clouds  be 
to  the  north  of  the  observer,  the  western  clouds,  though 
smaller  than  the  eastern,  would  appear  in  perspective  nearer 
than  the  eastern,  and  conversely  in  the  southern  horizon  ; 
for  there  the  western  ones  would  be  nearly  concealed  by 
the  eastern  ones. 

These  theoretical  views  are  thrown  out,  not  to  bias  pub- 
lic opinion,  but  to  aid  in  making  observations. 

127.  It  is  of  considerable  interest  to  know  how  high  the 
tops  of  these  thunder  clouds  rise,  and  to  those  who  are  cu- 
rious on  this  point,  we  would  recommend  the  following 
plan:  —  when  a   thunder  storm,  or  violent  hail  or  rain, 
passes  over  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  leaves  the  western 
sky  perfectly  clear,  mark  the  time  by  your  watch  when  the 


158  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

sun  sinks  below  the  horizon,  and  also  the  time  when  his 
last  rays  fall  on  the  top  .of  the  cloud ;  at  the  same  moment 
take  the  angular  height  of  the  top  of  the  cloud  with  your 
sextant,  and  also  its  direction  ;  then  you  will  have  data  for 
finding  the  height  of  the  cloud  by  trigonometry  :  or  the  dis- 
tance of  the  cloud  may  be  computed  by  observing  the  inter- 
val of  time  between  a  flash  of  lightning  emanating  from  it, 
and  the  succeeding  thunder.  This  interval  in  seconds  mul- 
tiplied by  1142,  will  give  the  distance  of  the  cloud  in  feet. 
The  distance  and  angular  elevation  being  known,  the  height 
can  be  ascertained  by  a  simple  trigonometrical  calculation. 
One  was  so  calculated  by  the  writer  of  this  circular,  and 
found  to  be  about  ten  miles  high.  (81.)  Further  observa- 
tions on  this  point  are  desirable.1 

128.  Sir  John  Herschel  has  recommended  that  hourly 
observations,  for  thirty-seven  successive  hours,  be  made  four 
times  a  year,  beginning  at  six,  A.  M.,  on  the  21st  of  March, 
the  21st  of  June,  the  21st  of  September,  and  the  21st  of 
December.  Many  observers,  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
have  commenced  these  observations,  and  some  important 
facts  have  already  been  discovered  by  them.  We  hope  that 
very  many  of  our  correspondents  will  follow  the  example ; 
and  to  those  who  do,  we  recommend,  according  to  a  sugges- 
tion of  Mr.  Redfield,  that  some  account  of  the  weather,  before 
and  after  this  period,  be  given  —  especially  if  a  storm  oc- 
curs, that  all  the  phenomena  of  the  storm  may  be  known. 

At  the  time  of  all  storms,  it  will  be  highly  important  to 
make  the  observations  as  numerous  as  convenient,  always 
noting  the  exact  time  of  taking  the  observation,  even  to  a 
minute.  In  this  way,  so  many  almost  simultaneous  obser- 
vations will  be  made  on  the  same  storm,  that  even  a  sum- 
mer's thunder  shower  cannot  spring  up  in  our  borders  with- 

1  As  the  dew  point  in  this  country  in  the  summer,  is  much  higher  than  it 
is  in  Great  Britain,  it  ought  to  be  expected  that  clouds  would  shoot  their  tops 
much  higher  here  than  there ;  because  the  steam  power  is  greater. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  159 

out  being  under  the  eye  of  several  observers ;  and  thus  it 
is  hoped  the  exact  direction  in  which  all  the  storms  move, 
and  their  velocity  along  the  surface  of  the  earth,  will,  in  a 
few  years,  be  found  out. 

When  no  remarkable  changes  are  going  on  in  the  atmos- 
phere,, three  observations  will -be  sufficient  in  the  day,  at 
seven,  A.  M.,  at  two,  P.  M.,  and  at  nine,  P,  M.,  or  as  near 
those  hours  as  possible,  always  noting  the  hour  and  minute 
when  the  observation  is  taken,  in  case  a  storm  is  progress- 
ing. 

Much  curious  information,  and  valuable  to  the  farmer, 
would  be  obtained,  if  our  correspondents  would,  in  clear 
calm  nights,  observe  the  difference  of  temperature  of  the  air 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hollows,  and  on  the  slopes  of  surround- 
ing hills  and  tops  of  knolls.  They  will  find,  at  a  certain 
height,  that  the  temperature  remains  nearly  constant,  while, 
at  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  the  change  is  very  great ;  and 
from  this  investigation  they  will -learn  at  what  height  it  will 
be  best  to  plant  their  orchards,  to  prevent  their  fruit  from 
being  killed  by  frost.  Any  information  which  our  corres- 
pondents may  give  us  on  this  subject,  or  any  other  —  such 
as  frosts,  dews,  fogs,  clouds  on  sides  of  mountains,  and  their 
height  in  connection  with  the  dew  point,  will  be  thankfully 
received,  and  be  added  to  our  common  stock  of  knowledge. 

Especially  if  a  land  spout  or  tornado  passes  near  you  to 
the  north  or  south,  carefully  ascertain  the  angular  height  of 
the  cloudy  pillar,  where  it  joins  the  black  cloud  above,  by 
placing  yourself  in  such  a  position  as  to  have  some  fixed 
object  between  your  eye  and  the  top  of  the  pillar  or  spout, 
and  afterwards  the  angular  height  can  be  ascertained  by 
the  quadrant,  and  so  the  height  of  the  spout  be  known  by 
trigonometry ;  for  the  distance  of  the  observer  from  the  path 
of  the  spout  can  afterwards  be  measured.  Do  riot  fail  to 
take  the  dew  point  and  temperature  of  the  air  at  the  same 
time ;  and  if,  at  any  time,  you  should  be  able  to  see  the  top 


160 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


of  the  cloud  above  the  cloudy  pillar,  endeavor  to  find  out 
its  height  in  the  same  manner,  and  describe  its  form,  and 
all  the  phenomena  attending  it,  as  near  as  possible. 

129.  For  the  sake  of  our  correspondents  who  may  not  have 
access  to  tables,  we  insert  a  table  of  dew  points,  in  which  the 
column  to  the  left  is  the  dew  point  temperature,  the  middle 
column  the  corresponding  elastic  force  of  the  vapor  in  the 
air  in  inches  of  mercury,  and  the  right  hand  column  is  the 
weight  of  the  vapor  proportional  to  the  air  containing  it 
when  the  mercury  stands  in  the  barometer  at  thirty  inches, 
the  weight  of  the  air  being  unity. 


Temperature 
of  dew  point. 

Elastic 
force. 
0:200 

Weight  of 
vapor. 
l-240th 

Temperature 
of  dew  point. 

57° 

Elastic 
force. 
0.474 

Weight  of 
vapor. 
l-101st 

33 

207 

232d 

58 

490 

97th 

34 

214 

224th 

59 

507 

94th 

35 

221 

217th 

60 

524 

91st 

36 

229 

209th 

61 

542 

88th 

37 

237 

202d 

62 

560 

85th 

38 

245 

195th 

63 

578 

83d 

39 

254 

190th  • 

64 

597 

80th 

40 

263 

188th 

65 

616 

77th 

41 

273 

175th 

66 

636 

75th 

42 

283 

169th 

67 

655 

73d 

43 

294 

163d 

68 

676 

71st 

44 

305 

157th 

69 

698 

68th 

45 

316 

152d 

70 

721 

66th 

46 

328 

146th 

71 

745 

64th 

47 

339 

141st 

72 

775 

62d 

48 

351 

136th 

73 

796 

60th 

49 

363 

132d 

74 

823 

58th 

50 

375 

128th 

75 

854 

56th 

51 

388 

124th 

76 

880 

54th 

52 

401 

120th 

77 

910 

52d 

53 

415 

115th 

78 

940 

51st 

54 

429 

lllth 

79 

971 

49th 

55 

443 

108th 

80 

1.000 

48th 

56 

458 

104th 

Philadelphia,  July  7,  1837. 


JAMES  P.  ESPY,  Meteorologist. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  161 


From  an  Essay  on  Meteorological  Observations,  by  J.  N.  Ni- 
collet,  Esq.,  written  in  compliance  with  a  wish  expressed  to 
him  by  the  Honorable  J.  R.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of  the  De- 
partment of  War,  I  quote  a  few  interesting  paragraphs, 
as  being  peculiarly  appropriate  here. 

THE  FORMATION  OF  CLOUDS. 

130.  There  is  a  certain  kind  of  cloud  which  forms  only 
in  the  day,  when  the  heavens  are  not  overspread  with  other 
clouds,  and  when  the  dew  point  is  not  too  low,  which,  when 
well  formed,  generally  appears  with  a  broad  dark  base,  and 
narrow  top,  something  in  the  form  of  a  cone,  with  sides  as 
white  as  snow.  There  is  no  cloud  ever  seen  below  the  base 
of  this  cloud,  but  it  frequently  rises  with  its  top  above  the 
highest  clouds,  which  it  pierces  with  its  snow-white  top. 
As  it  passes  through  the  uppermost  or  feathery  cloud,  it 
seems  to  lift  the  thin  cloud  before  it,  and  condense  it  into  a 
semi-transparent  veil,  which  at  first  appears  at  some  distance 
above  the  top  of  the  columnar  cloud;  but  finally  as  the  col- 
umnar one  moves  upwards,  its  well  defined  top  reaches  the 
thin  veil  and  penetrates  it.  Very  soon  afterwards  by  the 
upward  motion  of  the  columnar,  the  veil  coalesces  with  the 
columnar  cloud,  and  can  no  longer  be  distinguished  from  it. 
The  same  phenomena  frequently  take  place,  when  no  fea- 
thery clouds  are  to  be  seen  in  the  higher  strata  of  air.  When 
the  top  of  the  columnar  cloud  reaches  a  great  elevation,  it 
is  seen  to  form  above  it,  at  a  short  distance,  a  similar  veil 
or  cap,  which  it  gradually  overtakes  and  coalesces  with,  as 
before  mentioned.  The  bases  of  these  clouds  are  probably 
all  on  the  same  horizontal  level ;  and  if  the  theory  which 
has  been  lately  advanced  in  the  Journal  of  the  Franklin  In- 
stitute is  correct,  the  height  of  these  bases,  is  as  many  hun- 
dred yards  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  above  the  dew 
point,  at  the  moment  of  observation,  in  degrees  of  Fahrenheit. 
21 


162  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

We  invite  the  special  attention  of  the  meteorologist  to  be 
directed  to  this  cloud.  Let  him  watch  it  from  the  moment 
of  its  beginning  to  form  in  the  morning,  taking  drawings  of 
it  through  all  its  stages  ;  noting  the  length  of  time  from  one 
stage  to  another,  until  it  dissipates  or  produces  rain.  If  it 
dissipates  without  raining  let  him  try  to  ascertain  the  cause. 
Did  its  top  rise  into  a  current  of  air,  moving  in  a  different 
direction,  and  preventing  it  from  rising  perpendicularly, 
slicing  off  its  top  and  dissipating  it  in  air  not  saturated  with 
vapor?  Or  did  it  spread  out  in  all  directions,  and  thus  dis- 
sipate ?  Or  did  the  failure  depend  on  the  dew  point  ?  Or 
what  were  the  circumstances  in  which  it  differed  from  col- 
umnar clouds  producing  rain  ?  In  case  of  producing  rain,  let 
the  top  of  the  cloud  be  particularly  noted.  Did  it  change 
its  appearance  about  the  time,  or  a  little  before  the  rain  is 
seen  to  descend  from  its  base  ?  And  in  case  the  cloud  be- 
comes very  lofty,  does  the  base  of  the  cloud  sometimes  sink 
to  a  lower  level,  and  appear  convex  below  ?  And  is  an  ex- 
tension of  this  appearance  the  water  spout  ?  Does  the  cloud 
also  swell  out  sometimes  above,  so  as  to  form  a  shape  some- 
thing like  an  hour-glass,  or  double  cone,  with  the  apices 
together  ?  What  kind  of  cloud  does  this  columnar  or  hour- 
glass rain  cloud  form  after  the  rain  is  over,  and  how  does  it 
differ  from  the  cloud  which  dissipates  without  raining  ?  Does 
it  become  the  feathery  cloud,  sinking  a  little  at  the  top  and 
rising  at  the  base,  and  spreading  out  in  the  direction  of  the 
upper  current  ?  What  is  the  direction  of  the  upper  current 
at  the  equator  ?  Is  it  towards  the  west?  If  so,  do  storms  travel 
in  that  direction  and  with  what  velocity  ?  Near  the  equator, 
on  the  north  side,  do  the  storms  recede  a  little  from  the  equa- 
tor as  they  travel  westwardly,  and  so  on  the  south  side  of  the 
equator?  Or  is  there  any  general  law  on  this  point  ? 

During  the  rapid  formation  of  the  columnar  cloud,  is  the 
wind  affected  ?  If  the  theory  above  alluded  to  is  correct,  it 
'should  blow  in  all  directions  towards  the  forming  cloud,  and 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  163 

upwards  in  the  region  of  the  cloud  itself.  Is  there  such  a 
thing  as  a  white  squall,  without  any  cloud  formed,  or  about 
to  be  formed  over  the  region  of  the  squall  ? 

In  case  of  a  great  storm  or  hurricane  does  the  wind  near 
the  equator  always  set  in  from  some  western  point ;  and  do 
tornadoes  always  travel  in  the  direction  of  the  stratum  of  air 
which  the  tops  of  columnar  clouds  penetrate  ?  Or  is  there 
any  law  on  this  point?  Do  columnar  clouds  more  frequently 
form  over  islands  than  in  the  open  sea  ?  And  do  they  only 
form  in  the  day  when  the  heavens  are  not  overcast  with 
others,  and  do  they  disappear  in  the  night  as  they  do  on 
land  ?  Are  columnar  clouds  formed  every  day  not  overcast  ? 
If  not,  what  is  the  cause  ?  Is  it  because  the  dew  point  is  too 
low  when  compared  with  the  temperature  of  the  air  ?  What 
is  the  greatest  depression  of  the  dew  point  below  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air  when  columnar  clouds  form  ? 

How  soon  do  they  begin  to  form  after  sunrise,  and  when 
do  they  cease  to  form  in  the  afternoon?  And  when  do  they  dis- 
appear in  the  evening  ?  Or  is  there  any  law  on  this  point  ? 

Mr.  Redfield,  of  New  York,  has  shown  that  the  storms 
which  visit  the  West  Indies,  travel  north  westwardly  while 
in  the  torrid  zone.  Does  the  wind  in  these  storms,  which 
sets  in  from  the  north  west,  change  round  on  the  north  east 
side  by  the  north,  and  on  the  south  west  side  by  the  west, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  show,  that  the  wind  blows  towards 
the  centre  of  the  storm  ?  Or  what  is  the  general  law  on  this 
point?  Are  these  storms  always  attended  with  electrical 
phenomena;  and  is  there  any  thing  peculiar  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  lightning  ?  When  an  observation  is  made  on 
land,  note  whether  the  lightning  descends  vertically,  as  has 
been  asserted,  and  rolls  over  the  ground  like  melted  metal. 
Inquire,  when  tornadoes  occur,  whether  they  sometimes 
lift  up  large  trees,  and  set  them  down  in  a  different  place, 
on  the  broad  base  of  their  roots,  without  overturning  them ; 
whether  they  lift  off  the  roofs  of  houses,  and  prostrate  the 


164  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

walls  outwards,  as  if  by  explosion,  and  tear  up  the  floors  of 
others  and  leave  the  walls  standing  ?  Are  they  ever  attended 
with  hail  ?  Do  great  storms  remain  for  some  time  stationary 
on  reaching  an  island,  and  what  evidence  is  there  of  a  lull 
or  calm  in  the  centre  of  a  storm?  Has  the  barometer  ever 
been  observed  at  the  moment  of  this  lull,  and  what  is  the 
greatest  depression  recorded  by  a  credible  witness.  Does 
the  rain  cease  at  the  moment  of  the  lull  of  the  wind,  and 
are  the  clouds  seen  at  the  same  time  to  move  on  all  sides  to- 
wards the  zenith  ? 

In  the  case  of  violent  storms  in  the  torrid  zone,  do  they 
always  set  in  from  some  western  point,  and  terminate  with 
the  wind  from  some  eastern  point  ?  If  they  set  in  from  a 
point  far  north  of  west,  does  the  wind  veer  round  by  the 
north,  and  if  from  a  point  far  south  of  west,  does  the  wind 
veer  round  by  the  south  ?  If  this  question  should  be  an- 
swered in  the  affirmative,  the  discovery  will  be  of  immense 
advantage  to  navigation,  for  it  will  afford  an  indubitable 
proof  that  the  wind  blows  towards  the  storm ;  and  the 
knowledge  of  this  fact  will  enable  the  mariner  to  avoid  the 
storm,  by  sailing  in  a  direction  from  the  point  to  which  the 
storm  is  advancing.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  it  has  been 
discovered,  that  near  the  equator  the  storms  travel  towards 
the  west,  and  that  the  wind,  in  great  storms,  blows  towards 
the  centre  of  the  storm,  and  a  violent  gale  sets  in  from  the 
north  west,  it  is  manifest,  if  the  mariner  sails  towards  the 
north  east,  he  will  soon  be  out  of  reach  of  the  storm ;  whilst, 
on  the  contrary,  if  he  should  direct  his  course  southwardly, 
he  .would  penetrate  the  very  heart  of  the  storm,  and  thus  be 
exposed  to  all  its  violence.  It  is  then  a  matter  of  high  im- 
portance to  ascertain  the  course,  which  storms  travel  in  all 
the  different  latitudes.  If  the  uppermost  current  of  the  at- 
mosphere gives  direction  to  violent  storms,  it  is  highly  pro- 
bable, that  near  the  equator  they  travel  towards  the  west. 
For  as  the  air  at  the  equator  is  lighter  than  the  air  at  high 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  165 

latitudes,  both  on  account  of  greater  heat  and  greater  mois- 
ture; it  will  ascend,  and  in  ascending,  it  will  recede  to  the 
west,  in  consequence  of  the  earth's  rotation.  This  upper 
current  may  probably  be  detected  by  the  direction  in  which 
the  lofty  columnar  clouds  lean ;  for  their  tops,  when  they 
rise  to  a  great  height,  will  be  bent  over  in  the  direction  of 
the  upper  current.  Besides,  as  the  feathery  or  hazy  cloud 
spoken  of  above  is  probably  formed  out  of  the  tops  of  col- 
umnar clouds  which  have  rained,  this  upper  current  will 
most  likely  be  indicated  by  the  hazy  clouds.  Let  these 
clouds  be  carefully  noticed  and  described.  Is  their  velocity 
uniform  or  various  ?  Does  their  acceleration  indicate  rain  ? 

Does  their  increase  in  number  indicate  rain? 

The  observer  will  be  careful  to  distinguish  between  violent 
storms  and  ordinary  rains ;  for  it  may  be  that  ordinary  rains 
are  very  irregular  in  the  direction  of  their  motion,  the  tops 
of  clouds  producing  them  not  reaching  into  the  uppermost 
current,  which  is  probably  nearly  uniform  in  its  direction, 
while  the  tops  of  clouds  producing  tornadoes,  may  all  reach 
into  the  uppermost  current,  and  thus  great  uniformity  in 
the  direction  of  their  motion  may  be  produced.  Mr.  Red- 
field  has  shown  that  there  is  a  remarkable  uniformity  in  the 
progressive  motion  of  storms  or  hurricanes,  which  traverse 
the  West  India  islands,  all  moving  in  the  direction  which 
theory  would  seem  to  give  to  the  uppermost  current  as  it 
passes  off  from  the  equator  towards  the  poles.  The  greater 
heat  and  higher  dew  point  of  the  inter-tropical  air  will 
cause  it  to  be  about  one  sixth  lighter  than  air  in  the  frigid 
zones,  and  of  course  it  will  stand  proportionally  higher  and 
will  therefore  roll  off  towards  the  poles,  carrying  with  it  in 
some  measure,  the  diurnal  velocity,  which  it  had  at  the 
equator  ;  and  so  moving  faster  than  the  earth  at  the  latitude 
which  it  has  reached.  In  confirmation  of  this  theoretical 
result  it  is  known  that  the  highest  of  all  our  clouds  in  the 
latitude  of  Philadelphia,  come  constantly  from  near  the 


166  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

west  or  south  west ;  and  all  the  tornadoes  which  have  been 
observed  by  scientific  men,  travel  from  a  little  south  of  west 
in  that  latitude.  It  may  be  added  that  of  eleven  land  spouts 
or  tornadoes,  which  passed  through  New  York,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  New  Jersey,  every  one  had  the  trees  thrown  down 
with  their  tops  inwards  and  forwards,  not  one  tree  being  dis- 
covered with  its  top  lying  out  at  the  side.  Thus  proving, 
beyond  a  doubt,  that  in  land  spouts  the  wind  blows  towards 
the  centre"  of  the  spout.  How  is  it  at  sea  ?  In  several  great 
storms  in  the  United  States,  of  several  hundred  miles  in  di- 
ameter, which  have  been  investigated  with  great  care  by  the 
joint  committee  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and 
the  Franklin  Institute  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
wind  has  been  discovered  to  blow  for  many  days  in  succes- 
sion towards  the  storm,  on  all  sides  round  the  storm.  Is 
this  the  case  at  sea  ? 

If,  as  is  probable,  opportunities  be  presented  of  observing 
volcanoes,  let  it  be  seen  whether  they  ever  produce  rains 
immediately  after  they  break  out ;  first,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  volcano,  and  afterwards,  extending  to  greater  dis- 
tances. Are  these  rains  ever  attended  with  violent  torna- 
does, and  sometimes  with  hail  ?  Are  the  smoke  and  ashes 
carried  in  all  directions  above  to  a  great  distance,  or  are 
they  carried  further  on  one  side  than  on  another  ? 

The  fluctuations  of  the  barometer  in  connection  with 
storms,  will  of  course  be  noted.  Much  "knowledge  is  yet 
wanted  to  enable- us  to  read  the  indications  of  this  valuable 
instrument ;  observe  whether  it  ever  rises  before  the  de- 
pression which  always  takes  place  in  great  storms,  and  at 
the  moment  of  the  calm  which  may  probably  be  experienced 
in  the  middle  of  the  storm,  mark  the  greatest  depression. 

131.  The  four  diurnal  fluctuations  of  the  barometer  should 
also  claim  particular  notice.  Very  laborious  and  highly  in- 
teresting observations  on  these  fluctuations  have  lately  been 
made  in  India,  which  are  recommended  to  the  attention  of 
the  meteorologist. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  167 

If  these  fluctuations  depend  on  the  increase  and  diminu- 
tion of  elasticity  of  the  air  by  heat  and  cold,  according  to 
a  theory  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute, 
the  morning  maximum  of  a  considerable  elevation  ought  to 
be  greater  than  on  the  plain  below ;  and  the  afternoon  mini- 
mum should  not  be  as  low  as  on  the  plain  below. 

Again,  the  night  maximum  should  be  less  and  the  mini- 
mum greater  than  on  the  plain.  These  predictions  have 
been  verified  by  observations.  If  time  and  opportunity 
should  be  found,  they  might  be  repeated. 

The  theory,  however,  goes  further :  it  indicates  that  at 
very  great  elevations  there  are  but  two  fluctuations  in  a 
day  —  a  maximum  about  twelve  or  one  o'clock  in  the  day, 
and  a  minimum  about  day-break.  To  verify  or  refute  this 
inference  from  theory,  simultaneous  observations  at  an  ele- 
vation of  fourteen  or  fifteen  thousand  feet,  and  on  the  plain 
below,  continued  for  a  few  days,  will  be  sufficient,  if  the 
fluctuations  on  the  plain  are  regular.  If  a  cloud  is  pro- 
duced by  the  cold  generated  by  the  expansion  of  air  as  it 
ascends,  it  is  manifest  that  the  base  of  the  cloud  will  be 
low  in  proportion  as  the  dew  point  approaches  near  to  the 
temperature  of  the  air,  and  high  in  proportion  as  the  dew 
point  recedes  from  that  temperature 

The  Franklin  Kite  Club,  at  Philadelphia,  have  lately 
discovered  that  in  those  days  when  columnar  clouds  form 
rapidly  and  numerously,  their  kite  was  frequently  carried 
upwards  nearly  perpendicularly  by  columns  of  ascending 
air,  and  they  say  in  their  report,  that  this  circumstance  be- 
came so  familiar  during  the  course  of  their  experiments, 
that,  on  the  approach  of  a  columnar  cloud  just  forming,  they 
could  predict  whether  it  would  come  near  enough  to  affect 
their  kite ;  for  if  the  cloud  did  not  pass  directly  over  the 
kite,  the  kite  would  only  move  sideways  towards  the  cloud. 
Now  these  upward  columns  were  probably  formed  of  air 
heated  from  contact  with  the  ground. 


168  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Is  the  same  effect  produced  at  sea  ?  Is  there  any  connec- 
tion between  sudden  and  very  limited  breezes  at  sea  and  the 
formation  of  columnar  clouds  ? 

If  thunder  storms  occur  at  night,  endeavor  should  be 
made  to  find  out  whether  they  originate  in  the  night,  or 
whether  they  are  continuations  of  storms  originating  in  the 
day.  If  they  form  at  night,  note  whether  the  columns 
ascend  from  middle  clouds,  or  whether  they  rise  from  below 
them.  Observe  where  the  electricity  first  appears  in  them 
and  at  what  stage  of  their  advancement,  and  the  whole 
phenomena  as  contrasted  with  storms  or  rains  in  the  day. 

Circular  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Meteorology  of  the  Amer- 
ican Philosophical  Society  and  Franklin  Institute. 

132.  SIR, — It  having  become  highly  important,  owing  to 
recent  investigations  in  atmospheric  phenomena,  to  ascertain 
the  phases  of  the  great  storms  of  rain  arid  snow  which  tra- 
verse our  continent,  their  shape  and  size,  what  direction, 
and  with  what  velocity  their  centres  move  along  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  whether  they  are  round  or  oblong  or  irregular 
in  shape,  and  move  in  different  directions  in  the  different 
seasons  of  the  year,  &c.,  &c.,  you  are  respectfully  but  ear- 
nestly solicited  to  procure,  in  your  district,  answers  to  as 
many  of  the  following  questions  as  possible,  and  cause  them 
to  be  transmitted  to  William  Hamilton,  Esq.,  Actuary  of 
the  Franklin  Institute,  Philadelphia. 

When  did  the  storm  immediately  preceding  the  19th  of 
March,  1838,  commence  and  terminate  ? 

In  what  direction  did  the  wind  blow  during  the  storm? 

Was  there  much  or  little  rain  or  snow  ? 

Was  there  much  or  little  wind  ? 

If  the  observer  was  beyond  the  borders  of  the  snow  or 
rain,  how  did  the  wind  blow  as  to  strength  and  direction  on 
the  16th,  17th,  18th  and  19th  of  March  ? 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  169 

The  last  question  is  of  great  moment,  and  the  committee 
beg  of  those  gentlemen  to  whom  this  circular  may  be  ad- 
dressed, and  who  live  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  storm, 
to  favor  them  with  a  reply,  jf  it  be  only  to  communicate 
the  single  fact  of  their  residing  beyond  its  limits. 

Should  the  committee  receive  such  answers  to  the  ques- 
tions proposed  above  as  may  enable  them  to  ascertain  the 
chief  phases  of  the  storm,  it  is  their  intention  to  publish  a 
report  of  the  same  which  they  will  have  much  pleasure  in 
transmitting  to  you. 

ROBLEY  DUNGLISON,  Chairman  of  the  Joint  Com. 

Philadelphia,  March  20, 1838. 

PHILADELPHIA,  Nov.  10,  1838. 
To  the  Friends  of  Science  in  the  United  States. 

133.  GENTLEMEN  :  Many  of  you,  no  doubt,  have  already 
learned  that  a  committee  has  been  appointed  by  the  Frank- 
lin Institute  for  the  especial  purpose  of  advancing  the  sci- 
ence of  meteorology.  The  success  of  this  committee  de- 
pends on  their  having  very  many  journals  of  the  weather 
placed  at  their  disposal,  kept  at  different  places  in  these 
United  States.  The  sole  object  which  I  have  in  view  in 
addressing  to  you  the  following  remarks,  is  to  satisfy  you 
that  the  committee  are  engaged  in  a  great  undertaking,  and 
that  your  aid  is  essential  to  their  success. 

The  labors  of  the  committee,  from  the  beginning,  have 
been  principally  to  investigate  the  cause  of  storms,  and  to 
find  out  the  means  of  predicting  their  occurrence,  in  time  to 
be  practically  useful  to  mankind. 

Now  it  appears  from  the  Third  Report  of  the  committee, 
(113),  that  the  cause  of  storms  has  already  been  discovered, 
and  that  from  this  discovery,  and  the  facts  connected  with 
it,  the  direction  in  which  a  great  storm  is  raging  at  any 
time,  may  be  known  when  it  comes  within  a  disturbing 
influence ;  and  from  some  facts  detailed  in  the  "  First  Re- 

22 


170  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

port,"  (92)  and  also  in  a  paper  by  a  member !  of  the  commit- 
tee, which  was  first  published  in  Poulson's  Daily  Advertiser, 
it  appears  that  this  disturbing  influence  sometimes  reaches 
several  hundred  miles  in  distance,  and  more  than  a  day  in 
time.  (171). 

It  remains  then,  when  a  storm  comes  within  disturbing 
influence,  and  is  known  to  be  raging  in  a  particular  direc- 
tion, to  endeavor  to  ascertain  whether  that  storm  will  reach 
the  place  of  observation,  and  in  what  time ;  or  whether  it 
will  pass  to  the  right  or  the  left  of  the  observer,  and  in 
what  direction  the  wind  will  blow  during  its  passage. 
When  this  shall  be  done,  the  mariner,  who  has  the  power 
of  locomotion,  will  be  able,  on  the  approach  of  a  storm,  so 
to  direct  his  vessel  as  to  avoid  the  violence  of  its  centre, 
and  keep  as  near  its  borders  as  will  suit  the  purposes  of 
navigation.  And  the  farmer,  who  cannot  change  his  local- 
ity, will  at  least  be  able  to  prepare  for  its  arrival. 

Now  the  only  probable  means  of  obtaining  this  highly- 
desirable  result  is  to  find  out  the  shape  and  size  of  great 
storms,  and  their  course  and  velocity  over  the  earth's  sur- 
face in  the  different  latitudes  and  different  seasons  of  the 
year. 

If  there  is  any  general  law  of  nature  embracing  these 
phenomena,  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  will  be  discovered 
by  a  careful  examination  of  the  numerous  simultaneous,  or 
nearly  simultaneous  observations  of  these  phenomena,  which 
it  is  hoped  will  soon  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

That  there  is  a  general  law,  as  it  relates  to  the  direction 
in  which  some  very  violent  storms  of  moderate  size,  move, 
has  been  most  satisfactorily  demonstrated  by  the  labors  of 
Mr.  Redfield,  of  New  York,  and  confirmed  by  the  investi- 
gations of  this  committee.  Besides,  there  is  very  strong 

1  C.  C.  Walker,  Esq. 


LABORS  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE.  171 

evidence  in  my  possession,  not  yet  published,  that  torna- 
does or  land  spouts,  in  this  latitude,  have  nearly  one  uni- 
form direction,  towards  E.  N.  E.  These  facts,  in  connex- 
ion with  the  known  uniformity  of  nature,  in  other  depart- 
ments of  science,  render  it  highly  probable  that  other  storms, 
and  even  common  rains  and  snows,  are  governed  in  their 
motions  by  some  uniform  laws. 

The  state  of  Pennsylvania,  acting  through  the  intelli- 
gence of  her  legislature,  has  granted  to  the  committee  the 
means  to  investigate  those  storms  which  may  come  within 
her  borders.  It  is  confidently  hoped,  that  in  a  few  years, 
from  this  aid  alone,  much  Ifght  will  be  thrown  on  all  those 
storms,  of  such  moderate  size,  that,  in  passing  through  the 
state,  their  borders  are  within  the  reach  of  our  observers. 

The  great  interests  of  navigation  and  commerce,  however, 
require  a  much  more  extensive  system  of  simultaneous  ob- 
servations, than  the  one  now  about  to  be  organized  in  this 
state.  Many  storms,  and  those  of  the  most  interesting  and 
important  kind,  are  quite  too  large  to  be  embraced  within 
the  bounds  of  a  single  state,  and  of  course,  neither  the 
shape,  nor  size,  nor  velocity  of  such  storms,  can  be  ascer- 
tained by  observations  in  Pennsylvania  alone,  however 
carefully  those  observations  may  be  made. 

Besides,  even  if  it  should  be  discovered,  in  a  few  years, 
that  the  same  season  in  different  years,  will  exhibit  storms 
of  similar  character  in  Pennsylvania,  it  would  be  unsafe 
for  the  mariner,  in  a  different  latitude,  to  infer  that  he 
would '  meet  with  precisely  similar  phenomena,  on  the 
occurrence  of  a  storm  at  sea. 

The  great  interests  of  navigation  and  commerce,  then, 
seem  to  require,  that  a  much  wider  range  of  observations 
should  be  established,  than  the  territory  of  Pennsylvania 
can  furnish. 

The  great  north  east  winter  storms  which  traverse  our 
continent,  will  require  for  their  complete  investigation,  a 


172  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

system  of  simultaneous  observations,  extending  over  the 
whole  of  the  United  States,  including  the  Bermudas,  and  a 
few  of  the  West  India  Islands. 

Knowing  the  immense  importance  of  a  wider  extended 
correspondence,  the  committee,  from  their  first  establish- 
ment, have  endeavored,  by  every  means  in  their  power,  to 
procure  journals  of  the  weather  from  every  part  of  the 
United  States.  And  I  have  myself  written  to  more  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  individuals,  in  the  different  parts  of 
the  United  States,  requesting  them  at  least  to  send  an  ac- 
count of  the  beginnings  and  ends  of  rains,  and  the  force  and 
direction  of  the  winds  during  the  time  of  the  passage  of  a 
storm,  monthly,  to  William  Hamilton,  Actuary  of  the 
Franklin  Institute.  How  far  these  requests  will  be  com- 
plied with,  yet  remains  to  be  seen. 

To  aid  the  reader  in  understanding  the  investigations  of 
the  committee,  skeleton  maps  are  procured,  on  which  are 
traced  the  shape  and  size  of  all  important  storms,  and  their 
progress  from  hour  to  hour. 

The  direction,  also,  and  force  of  the  wind,  are  indicated 
by  arrows  of  different  lengths,  so  that  the  reader,  by  a 
glance  of  the  eye  over  these  Meteorological  Maps,  may  learn 
all  the  most  important  phenomena  attending  a  storm,  from 
the  time  it  enters,  till  the  time  it  leaves  the  boundary  of  our 
simultaneous  observations. 

The  magnitude  of  this  undertaking,  -and  the  great  proba- 
bility that  it  will  result  in  a  knowledge  highly  useful  to 
mankind,  are  calculated  to  stimulate  all  who  believe  in  the 
probability  of  success,  to  use  their  utmost  exertions  to  crown 
the  work,  which  has  been  so  happily  begun,  with  complete 
success.  Even  in  case  of  failure,  we  will  have  this  to  con- 
sole us  :  We  failed  in  a  great  undertaking. 

J.  P.  ESPY, 
In  his  individual  capacity. 


SECTION   FOURTH. 


INVESTIGATION  OF  STORMS. 

Storm  of  the  2§th  January,  1839. 

134.  A  STORM  of  rain,  and  snow,  and  wind,  of  uncom- 
mon violence,  occurred  in  the  middle  and  northern  States 
on  the  26th  of  January,  1839.     I  have  given  a  summary  of 
the  documents,  numbered  and  accompanied  with  a  chart 
on  which  the  arrows  are  drawn,  shewing  the  direction  of 
the  wind  near  the  middle  of  the  day,  at  which  time  the 
central  line  of  the  storm,  from  N.  N.  E.  to  S.  S.  W.,  reached 
from  the  eastern  coast  of  North  Carolina  to  Montreal,  and 
probably  much  farther.     How  much  further  it  extended 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  observations  at  my  command, 
it  is  in  vain  to  conjecture.     As  the  barometer  was  extremely 
low  at  Montreal,  the  most  northern  of  the  observations, 
and  as  the  wind  changed  round  there  from  south  to  west,  it 
is  quite  probable  that  Montreal  was  south  of  the  centre. 
And  as  the  Baltimore  Chronicle,  of  the  8th  of  February, 
says  the  schooner  Julia  Ann  was  lost  at  sea  on  the  26th,  in 
the  latitude  of  Charleston ;  and  the  New  York  Gazette,  of 
February  9th,  the  schooner  Stephen  was  wrecked  on  the 
26th,  in  lat.  36°  50',  long.  71°  15',  it  seems  highly  probable 
the  storm  extended  south  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  Charles- 
ton,    The  southern  half  of  this  storm  was,  therefore,  prob- 
ably, at  least  nine  hundred  miles  long  from  north  by  east  to 
south  by  west,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  east  and  west 


174 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


diameter  extended  from  Boston  —  where  (47)  it  freshened 
into  a  gale  about  two  o'clock  —  to  the  western  parts  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania. 


-''     CAROLINA. 


EXPLANATION    OP   THE    WOOD   CUT. 


No. 

1.  Washington,  Michigan,  wind  N.  W.  all 

day  of  the  26th,  gentle. 

2.  Wilmington,  Ohio,  N.  N.  W.  all  day  of 

the  26th,  gentle. 

3.  Springfield,  Ohio,  W.  alt  day. 

4.  Kenyon  College,  W.  by  N.,  wind  light, 

strong  at  night. 

5.  Cannonsburg,  Pa.,  W. 

6.  Meadville,  Pa.,  N.  W.,  very  strong  all 

day. 

7.  Greendale,  Pa.,  N.  W.,  strong  P.  M. 

8.  Rose  Cottage,  S.  E.  at  7,  A.  M.,  then  N. 

W.,  very  strong. 

9.  Smethport,  N.  W.,  very  strong. 

10.  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  N.  W.,  very  high  after 
first  few  hours. 


11.  Charlottsville,  Va.,  W.,  strong,  fair  day. 

12.  Alexandria,  D.  C.,  N.  W.,  violent  gale. 

13.  St.  Muy'i  College,  N.  W.,  violent  all 

day. 

14.  Gettysburg,  N.  W.,  brisk. 

15.  York,  Pa.,  N.  W.  all  day,  severe  gale. 

16.  Lancaster,  S.  S.  E.  till  8  3-4,  A.  M.,  then 

N.  W. 

17.  Reading,  S.  E.  at  7,  A.  M.,  then  N.  W. 

18.  Carlisle,  S.  W.  gentle,  then  W.  N    W. 

and  N.  W. 

19.  Pottsville,  S.  E.  till  9,  then  round  by  W. 

to  N.  W.,  strong. 

20.  Mifflintown,  N.  W.  and  W. 

21.  Lewistown,  S.  S.  E.  at  7,  N.  W.  the  rest 

of  day. 

22.  Bellefonte,  N.  E.,  then  N.,  then  W. 


INVESTIGATION  OF  STORMS. 


175 


23.  Northumberland,  calm  at  7,  A.  M,,  then  44. 

N.  W.  strong.  45. 

24.  Burlington,  N.  Y.,  S.,  changingtoS.  W., 

and  at  4,  P.  M.,  N.  W.  4ti. 

25.  Onondaga,  N.  W.  all  day. 

26.  Pompey,  N.  W.  increasing  all  day.  47. 

27.  Montreal,  S.  W.,  fresh  and  heavy  rain. 

28.  St.  Lawrence,  N.  E.  all  day.  48. 

29.  Bennington,  Vt.,  S.  E.  till  noon,  then  E. 

very  strong  till  8,  then  W.  N.  VV.  49. 

30.  Dartmouth  College,  S.  E.  all  day,  high 

wind,  violent  storm. 

31.  Charlestown,  N.  H.,  S.  E.  all  day,  very  50. 

violent. 

32.  Keene,  N.  H.,  S.  E.  all  day,  very  power-  51. 

ful. 

33.  Waterville,  Me.,   S.  E.  drawing    more  52. 

eastwardly  all  day. 

34.  Kennebunk,  Me.,  southerly  and  south-  53. 

easterly.  54. 

35.  Newburyport,  Mass.,  S.  at  7,  at  2,  S.  E.,  55. 

violent  in  evening.  56. 

36.  Gloucester,  S.  E.  at  night  of  26th.  57. 

37.  Boston,  S.  E.,  almost  a  tempest  in  eve-  58. 

ning. 

38.  Dedham,  S.  E.,  strong.  59. 

39.  Newport,  R.  I.,  S.  E.  till  evening,  then  60. 

S.  W.  61. 

39£.  New  Haven,  E.  S.  E.,  increasing  to  a  62. 

hurricane  at  5,  P.  M.,  western  at  7,  63. 

light  wind.  64. 

40.  Stroudsburg,  Pa.,  S.  E.  till  evening,  then  65. 

N.  W.  66. 

41.  La  Fayette  College,  S.  E.  till  evening,  67. 

then  N.  W.  68. 

42.  New  York,  S.  S.  E.,  very  violent  about  69. 

2,  P.  M.  70. 

43.  Philadelphia,   S.  E.  till  2,  then  calm,  at  71. 

2  h.  20  min.  N.  W.  violent.  72. 

43£.  Haverford,  near  Philadelphia,  E.  till  2,  73. 

P.  M.,  then  N.  W.  74. 


Squam  Beach,  S.  E.,  severe. 

Elkton,  Md.,  S.  E.  till  2,  then  shifted  to 

N.  W.,  a  perfect  gale. 
Cape  Island,  from  N.  E.  to  E.  S.  E.  till 

between  1  and  2,  then  N.  W.,  violent. 
Snow  Hill,  Md.,  E.till  12,  then  W.,  clear 

at  12. 
Schooner  Railway,  S.  E.,  violent  gale  ; 

schooner  Wolga,  same. 
Ship  Forum,  S  S.  E.,  perfect  hurricane 

from  11  till  4,  then  it  moderated,  and 

gradually  hauled  westerly. 
Hudson,  Ohio,  N.  W.  all  day,  clear  in 

morning,  cloudy  P.  M. 
Nantucket,  S.  E.,  on  27th  W.,  on  28th 

N.W. 
Beaufort,  N.  C.,  N.  W.,  having    been 

S.  E.,  with  rain  on  the  previous  night. 
Freedonia,  W.  all  day. 
Levvistown,  W.,  A.  M.,  N.  W.,  P.  M. 
Springville,  N.  W.  all  day. 
Monroe,  W.  all  day. 
Steuben,  N.  W.  all  day. 
Rochester,  S.  W.,  A.  M.,  N.  W.,P.  M., 

great  storm. 

Ithaca,  N.,  A.  M.,  N.  W.,P.  M. 
Lowville,  N.  all  day. 
Franklin,  N.  E.  all  day. 
Plaitsburg,  E.,  A.  M.  and  P.  M. 
Johnstown,  E.,  A.  M.  and  P.  M, 
Rensselear,  N.,  A.  M.,S.,  P.  M. 
Utica,  S.  E.,  A.  M.,  W.,  P.  M. 
Hartwick,  N.,  A.  M.  and  P.  M. 
Hamilton,  S.,  A.  M.,  N.  W.,  P.  M. 
Oxford,  S.,  A.  M.,  N.  E.,  P.  M. 
Cortland,  S.,  A.  M.,  N.  W..  P.  M. 
Fairfield,  S.  E.,  A.  M.,  N.  W.,  P.  M. 
Montgomery,  S.  W.,  A.  M.,  S.  E.,  P.  M. 
Redhook,  S.,  A.  M.,  S.  E.,  P.  M. 
Kinderhook,  S.,  A.  M.,  S.  E.,  P.  M. 
Albany,  S.  high,  and  E.,  very  high. 


135.  This  storm  seemed  to  originate  within  the  territory 
just  named,  and  to  have  acquired  its  great  force  on  the  26th. 
It  is  true  it  began  to  snow  a  little  on  the  25th,  to  the  west, 
as  far  as  Michigan  and  Ohio ;  but  it  acquired  no  violence 
till  it  reached  Pennsylvania  and  New  York.  After  it  com- 
menced its  violence,  however,  it  certainly  moved  towards  the 
east,  arid  if  it  moved  exactly  side  foremost,  its  direction  was 
towards  the  south  of  east.  The  observations  in  my  pos- 
session do  not  enable  me  to  decide  this  point  with  certainty. 
It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  however,  that  it  began  to  rain 
or  snow  on  the  25th,  in  the  north  west  part  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  the  northern  parts  of  New  York,  and  even  at  Mon- 
treal ;  and  at  this  time  the  wind  was  in  all  these  places 
southerly  and  easterly,  as  a  general  rule.  Now  it  may  be, 
that,  at  this  very  time,  the  centre  of  an  incipient  storm  was 


176  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

in  Upper  Canada,  north  west  of  the  boundary  to  which  our 
observations  extend.  It  would  be  highly  desirable  to  ob- 
tain records  of  the  weather  from  Upper  Canada,  which 
alone  can  answer  this  highly  important  question. 

136.  The  uncertainty,  however,  as  to  the  exact  direction 
in  which  this  great  storm  moved,  most  fortunately  for  the 
cause  of  science,  does  not  apply  to  the  course  of  the  wind. 
On  this  point  there  was  a  most  wonderful  and  beautiful 
uniformity. 

The  documents  abundantly  show,  that,  for  many  hours 
during  the  26th,  while  a  very  great  rain  and  snow  were 
falling  in  the  region  between  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United 
States  and  the  western  parts  of  New  York  and  Pennsylva- 
nia, the  wind  on  the  coast,  from  Maryland  to  Maine,  was 
almost  uniformly  blowing'from  the  east  or  south  east,  and 
at  the  same  time,  in  the  western  parts  of  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  middle  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  it  was 
from  some  western  or  north  western  direction.  Whilst 
these  winds  were  thus  blowing  in  on  both  sides  towards  a 
central  line,  the  barometer  was  greatly  below  the  mean  in 
the  middle  space  between  the  two  winds ;  and  the  more  the 
barometer  fell,  the  more  violently  did  the  winds  blow  on 
each  side. 

In  the  middle,  however,  the  winds  were  very  irregular 
along  the  whole  length  of  the  line  from  north  to  south ;  in 
some  places  they  were  north  (64,  66),  and  in  others  (69,  72) 
south,  violent ;  at  others  (43,  &c.)  calm,  with  the  barometer 
at  or  near  the  minimum.  In  one  of  these  places  of  great 
irregularity,  there  fell  a  very  uncommon  quantity  of  rain  — 
6  inches,  4  inches,  and  3.55  inches ;  at  Renssetaer,  Hamil- 
ton, and  Oxford,  in  a  region  forty  or  fifty  miles  in  extent, 
and  towards  that  region  round  about,  the  winds  seemed  to 
incline.  In  a  storm  of  such  great  length  as  the  present  one, 
it  is  quite  natural  to  expect  that  there  would  be  some  places 
in  the  central  line  where  much  more  rain  would  fall  than 


INVESTIGATION 'OF  STORMS.  177 

in  others,  and  of  course  this  circumstance  would  produce 
just  such  irregularities  as  took  place  while  the  centre  was 
passing  the  different  places.  Sometimes  the  wind  would 
change  by  the  north,  and  sometimes  by  the  south,  and 
sometimes  there  would  be  a  calm.  As  to  the  fall  of  the 
barometer  in  storms,  it  was  first  suggested  by  Mr.  Redfield, 
that  "  the  centrifugal  influence  which  necessarily  attends 
the  action  of  a  whirlwind  storm  affords  an  obvious  and 
natural  solution  of  this  phenomenon."  In  this  great  storm 
there  was  no  centrifugal  action,  and  therefore  his  solution 
is  not  applicable  to  the  present  case.  Indeed,  the  centrifu- 
gal action  cannot  take  place  to  cause  a  fall  of  the  barome- 
ter in  case  where  cloud  is  formed.  For  if  there  is  a  centrifu- 
gal action  below,  the  air  would  descend  in  the  middle,  and 
cloud  could  not  be  formed  there.  For,  as  the  air  descended,  it 
would  come  under  greater  pressure ;  and  if  it  descended  to 
the  surface  of  the  earth  from  a  distance  of  six  thousand 
yards,  it  would  be  about  90°  of  Fahr.  hotter  by  compression 
than  it  was  above,  and  then  would  be  able  to  contain  about 
eight  times  as  much  vapor  as  it  contained  at  its  original 
altitude,  even  if  it  was  saturated  there.  Thus  it  appears 
that  in  this  storm,  at  least,  the  barometer  did  not  fall  from 
any  centrifugal  action,  for  such  action  did  not  exist.  Be- 
sides, the  grand,  and  as  was  supposed,  fatal  objection  to 
my  doctrine,  is  refuted  by  the  actual  facts  developed  in  this 
storm.  It  was  supposed  by  Sir  John  Herschel  that,  if  the 
wind  blew  towards  a  central  space,  the  barometer  would 
certainly  rise  there  above  the  mean.  But  the  wind  in  this 
storm  did  blow  in  with  great  violence  to  a  central  space, 
and  the  barometer  did  not  rise  above  the  mean  there,  but 
sunk  lower  as  the  wind  blew  harder. 

It  seems  to  me  much  more  philosophical  to  assign  the  fall 
of  the  barometer  as  the  cause  of  the  wind,  than  to  assign 
the  wind  as  the  cause  of  the  fall  of  the  barometer. 

By  a  fall  of  the  barometer,  I  mean  a  diminution  in  the 
23 


178  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

superincumbent  weight  of  the  column  of  air  over  the  bar- 
ometer. The  cause  of  this  diminished  weight  has  been  ex- 
plained before,  and  its  amount,  under  given  circumstances, 
has  been  calculated.  If  the  advocates  of  the  whirlwind  doc- 
trine admit  an  inward  and  spiral  motion,  then  the  barometer 
would  not  fall  by  the  centrifugal  action,  but  rise  by  the  accu- 
mulation of  air  above;  unless  the  air  above  is  thrown  outwards 
by  a  greater  centrifugal  action  above,  or  in  some  other  way. 
Thus  the  grand  objection,  which  they  bring  against  my 
theory,  becomes  unanswerable  against  theirs,  unless  they 
can  show  that  the  gyrations  above  are  sufficient  to  throw 
the  air  outwards  there.  This,  I  say,  must  be  shown  ;  for 
it  will  not  do  to  assume  it  as  a  hypothesis. 

137.  The  velocity  with  which  this  storm  moved  from  west 
to  east  cannot  be  ascertained  with  absolute  accuracy,  yet  a 
near  approximation  may  be  made  by  the  accurate  observa- 
tions, at  New  Haven,  Waterville,  Philadelphia  and  Bur- 
lington, N.  Y.     The  centre  of  the  storm  passed  over  Phila- 
delphia at  forty  minutes  past  two,  P.  M.,  over  New  Haven 
about  forty  minutes  past  eight,  and  over  Waterville  about 
half  past  four,  on  the  morning  of  the  27th.     This  will  give 
a  velocity  of  motion  to  the  central  line  of  the  storm,  side 
foremost,  of  about  sixteen  or  seventeen  miles  an  hour. 

Now  the  wind  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  where  it  is  sub- 
jected to  much  friction,  was  blowing  in  towards  the  central 
line  with  a  velocity  of  double  or  tripple  of  the  motion  of 
the  storm  itself.  A  little  above  the  surface  of  the  earth  the 
velocity  of  the  air  inwards  would  be  much  greater  on  ac- 
count of  the  friction  being  less.  What  an  amazing  quantity 
of  air  rushed  towards  the  central  line  of  this  storm,  carry- 
ing with  it  an  ocean  of  vapor  to  be  condensed,  by  the  cold 
of  diminished  pressure  as  it  ascended. 

138.  We  can  even  form  some  rough  estimate  of  the  rela- 
tive quantities  which  ascended  on  the  different  sides  of  the 
central  line.     Much  more  certainly  ascended  on  the  east 


INVESTIGATION  OF  STORMS.  179 

side  than  on  the  west.  For  if  the  storm  had  moved  towards 
the  east  with  the  same  velocity  as  the  west  wind,  it  is  man- 
ifest that  none  of  the  wind  on  the  western  side  of  the  cen- 
tral line  would  have  ascended,  and  if  the  storm  moved  with 
half  the  velocity  of  the  western  wind,  then  only  half  the 
western  wind  would  ascend,  &c.  For  example,  suppose  the 
storm  moved  towards  the  east  sixteen  miles  an  hour,  and 
the  wind  blew  inwards  on  each  side  with  a  velocity  of  forty- 
eight  miles  an  hour,  then  thirty-two  miles  an  hour  would 
ascend  on  the  west  side,  and  sixty-four  miles  an  hour  would 
ascend  on  the  east  side.  It  is  easy  to  see  why  much  less 
should  ascend  on  the  western  or  rather  northwestern  side 
than  on  the  south-eastern  ;  it  is  because  of  the  much  greater 
degree  of  cold  on  the  north-western  side  of  the  storm.  The 
air  on  the  north-western  side  of  the  central  line  will  there- 
fore be  specifically  heavier  both  on  account  of  greater  cold 
and  a  lower  dew  point.  It  seems  probable  also  that  this 
heavier  air  will  have  a  tendency  to  cause  the  storm  to  move 
more  to  the  southward,  than  it  would  independent  of  this 
influence.  But  many  more  observations  on  the  motions  of 
storms  must  be  made,  before  we  can  pronounce  with  cer- 
tainty to  what  extent  these  theoretical  deductions  are  cor- 
rect. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  found,  that  when  the  north  west  wind 
is  excessively  cold  it  will  not  ascend  at  all,  and  then  the 
motion  of  the  storm  will  be  equal  to  the  velocity  of  the  west- 
ern or  northwestern  wind. 

139.  A  violent  gale  of  this  kind  seems  to  have  occurred 
on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  a  few  days  before.  This  gale 
commenced  at  Springfield,  Ohio,  about  10|,  P.  M.  of  22d, 
reached  Lancaster,  Pa.  at  7h.  10m.,  Reading  about  7h., 
and  Philadelphia  about  20  minutes  before  9,  A.  M.  This 
gale  was  preceded  by  no  south  east  wind,  at  least  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  Lancaster,  and  Springfield,  but  it  was  every 
where  in  Pennsylvania  accompanied  by  a  furious  snow 


180  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

storm,  commencing  just  before  the  north  west  wind  set  in. 
The  north  west  wind  was  also  very  violent  probably  about 
forty  or  fifty  miles  an  hour,  which  seems  to  be  about  the 
velocity  with  which  the  storm  moved  while  passing  from 
Springfield,  Ohio,  to  Philadelphia. 

140.  The  central  line  of  this  storm  also  was  not  directed 
exactly  north  and  south,  but  east  of  north  and  west  of  south. 
It  passed  Stroudsburg,  in  the  N.  E.  corner  of  Pennsylvania, 
ten  minutes  before  it  reached  Lancaster,  sixty  miles  west  of 
Philadelphia.     It  was  about  an  hour  later  reaching  Snow 
Hill,  Md.,  than  it  was  in  reaching  Stroudsbnrg. 

141.  Here  was  a  most  remarkable  vein  of  snow  several 
hundred  miles  long  from  N.  by  E.  to  S.  by  W.  and  only  a 
few  miles  wide,  moving  side  foremost,  and  snowing  only  a 
very  short  time  at  any  one  place,  half  an  hour  at  Philadel- 
phia and  Stroudsburg,  and  still  less  at  Snow  Hill  and  Lan- 
caster. 

This  vein  of  snow  was  preceded  by  a  fall  of  the  barome- 
ter, and  succeeded  by  a  very  sudden  rise,  of  about  half  an 
inch  in  a  few  hours,  and  of  three  fourths  in  twenty-four  hours. 

It  was  also  succeeded  by  a  sudden  fall  of  the  thermome- 
ter amounting  to  20°  and  30°  in  a  few  hours. 

The  difference  of  barometric  pressure  on  the  east  and 
west  side  of  this  vein  of  snow  caused  no  doubt  by  the  dif- 
ference of  temperature,  was  sufiicient  to  produce  the  violent 
westerly  wind,  on  the  west  side  of  the  vein  of  snow  :  and 
as  the  air  in  front  of  the  vein  was  calm  or  nearly  calm  un- 
til within  a  few  minutes  before  the  westerly  wind  com- 
menced with  violence,  it  is  manifest,  the  air  east  of  the  vein, 
on  the  approach  of  the  westerly  gale,  which  indeed  was 
the  most  violent  in  five  minutes  after  it  commenced,  must 
have  ascended ;  and  when  it  reached  a  certain  height,  it 
would  form  a  cloud  and  give  out  its  latent  caloric  of  elas- 
ticity and  of  fluidity,  which  would  expand  the  air  in  the 
cloud,  after  allowing  for  the  condensation  of  the  vapor  nearly 


INVESTIGATION  OF  STORMS.  181 

eight  thousand  cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot  of  water  thus 
formed  and  congealed  into  snow.  This  great  expansion 
would  cause  the  air  to  swell  up  to  a  greater  height  on  the 
east  side  of  the  central  line  of  the  storm  than  on  the  western 
side. 

The  air,  then,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  atmosphere  would 
roll  off  from  the  east  towards  the  west,  diminishing  its 
weight  on  the  east  of  the  central  line,  and  increasing  it  on 
the  western  side ;  and  its  violence  would  be  augmented,  or 
diminished,  as  it  passed  over  the  country  with  a  higher  or 
lower  dew  point.  Moreover,  the  particles  of  snow  would 
be  carried  up  to  a  great  height  by  the  ascending  air,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  central  line,  and  thus  become  excessively 
cold,  and  in  falling  down  through  the  air  on  the  west 
side,  would  diminish  its  temperature  very  much,  and  cause 
the  barometer  to  rise,  on  the  west  side,  both  by  their  own 
weight,  and  by  the  increased  weight  af  the  air,  by  cold. 

142.  This  cold  air  covered  the  whole  country  from  Mich- 
igan to  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States,  till  the  begin- 
ning of  the  great  storm  of  the  26th  January ;  and,  what  is 
worthy  of  particular  notice  is,  that  the  temperature  began 
to  increase  first  in  the  north  and  north  west.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  25th,  in  the  north  western  parts  of  Pennsylvania 
and  northern  parts  of  New  York,  the  thermometer  had 
already  risen  in  some  places  30°,  and  in  others  above  40°. 
While  in  the  south  east  corner  of  Pennsylvania  and  in 
the  south  east  corner  of  New  York,  it  had  not  begun  to  rise. 
The  wind  also  began  to  change  from  theaiorth  west  to  south 
and  south  east,  first  in  the  north  west  parts  of  Pennsylva- 
nia and  New  York,  some  time  before  it  commenced  in  the 
south  east  of  those  states  ;  and  during  the  whole  of  the  25th 
the  thermometer  in  the  north  of  New  York  continued  to 
rise,  though  the  wind  was  blowing  from  the  southward, 
where  the  thermometer  was  many  degrees  lower.  What 
was  the  cause  of  this  sudden  increase  of  temperature  in  a 


182  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

region  bordered  on  the  south  with  cold  air,  on  the  morning 
of  the  25th,  when  the  thermometer  had  already  risen  at  St. 
Lawrence,  in  the  north,  from  —  17°  to  +  27° ;  while  it  yet 
stood  in  the  south  east  part  of  New  York,  at  Clinton  Acad- 
emy, +  10°,  and  at  Mount  Pleasant  +  S°?  Was  it  the 
evolution  of  latent  caloric  in  the  incipient  storm,  then  ap- 
proaching from  the  north  west?  It  might  be  objected  to 
this  suggestion,  that  the  latent  coloric  is  given  out  in  the 
region  of  the  clouds,  and  not  in  the  lower  air  at  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  and  that,  as  air  is  a  bad  conductor,  it  could 
not  convey  the  caloric  down  so  as  to  affect  the  temperature. 
To  this  I  answer,  that  though  air  is  a  bad  conductor,  or 
even  a  non-conductor,  yet  it  must  have  the  power  of  radia- 
ting caloric,  or  it  would  never  get  rid  of  the  latent  heat 
which  it  always  receives  in  the  formation  of  clouds.  No- 
thing is  more  common  than  for  the  temperature  to  rise  rap- 
idly on  the  approach  of  a  great  snow  storm. 

143.  It  seems  highly  probable  that  this  rise  is  partly  due 
to  the  increased  temperature  and  increased  radiation  of  the 
upper  air,  which  has  then  spread  out  over  our  heads  from 
the  approaching  storm.     Further  observations  are  much  to 
be  desired  on  this  -point. 

144.  If  the  storm  commenced  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
great  lakes,  and  did  not  come  from  a  great  distance  through 
Upper  Canada,  no  doubt  the  upmoving  column  of  air  origi- 
nated there  from  the  greater  heat  and  higher  dew  point  of 
the  air  in  contact  with  the  waters  of  those  lakes,  which  at 
that  time  would  be«30°  or  40°  warmer  than  the  air  all  round 
those  lakes.     This  circumstance  would  only  account  for  the 
commencement,  but  not  for  the  continuance  of  the  storm, 
nor  for  the  increase  of  temperature  round  its  southern  bor- 
ders. 


INVESTIGATION  OF  STORMS.  183 


Storm  of  the  15th  December,  1839. 

145.  The  following  documents  will  show,  that  a  storm  of 
uncommon  violence  sprung  up  on  the  night  of  the  14th  De- 
cember, 1839,  in  the  territory  between  Lake  Erie  and  Bos- 
ton, reaching  from  Montreal,  down  through  Vermont,  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Rhode  Island,  into  the  ocean  to  an  unknown 
length. 

As  the  wind  was  the  most  violent  about  one  o'clock,  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  storm  —  at  Nantucket  and  Province- 
town  for  example  —  and  as  the  centre  of  the  storm  had  cer- 
tainly not  passed  those  places  at  this  time,  I  have  chosen 
this  hour  to  represent,  on  the  following  chart,  the  direction 
in  which  the  wind  was  blowing  at  various  places  in  the  re- 
gion of  the  storm,  and  near  its  borders. 

If  the  reader  will  cast  his  eye  on  the  chart,  he  will  per- 
ceive at  a  glance,  that  if  a  line  be  drawn  from  Lake  Cham- 
plain  to  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island  and  prolonged  into 
the  ocean,  there  is  a  general  tendency  of  the  winds,  both  on 
the  Atlantic  coast  and  in  the  western  parts  of  New  York, 
towards  this  line.  Especially  if  he  turns  his  attention  to 
numbers  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  on  one  side,  and  to  41,  42, 
43  and  44  on  the  other,  he  will  see  a  remarkable  converg- 
ence of  the  winds  towards  a  region  between  New  Haven 
and  Boston.  Let  the  reader  compare  this  fact  with  the 
statement  of  Mr.  Redfield.  "  To  me  it  clearly  appears  that 
the  wind  was  not  blowing  at  any  time  on  the  15th  towards 
a  space  or  region  of  country  south  west  from  Boston  and 
north  east  of  New  Haven,  as  was  suggested  by  Mr.  Espy 
in' the  Courier  and  Enquirer,  and  the  New  York  Gazette, 
nor  indeed  towards  any  other  central  space  in  the  gale." 

This  storm  did  not  come  from  the  far  west,  but  origina- 
ted in  the  territory  above  named.  Its  middle  seemed  to  be 
almost  stationary  for  twenty-four  hours,  gradually  going 
off,  however,  in  some  east  or  south  east  direction. 


184 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


Mr.  Redfield  adds,  that  "  the  'whole  series  of  gales,  which 
have  occurred  weekly  since  the  24th  of  November,  are  well 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  meteorologists  ;  and  the  rotative 
character  of  each  has  appeared  to  be  developed  as  clearly  as 
in  the  case  now  before  us."  I  think  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment quite  probable,  and  I  should  be  much  gratified  if  Mr. 
Redfield  would  lay  the  evidence  which  he  has  collected 
before  the  public.  I  will  aid  him  all  I  can  in  generalizing 
the  facts. 


.to. 


EXPLANATION  OF  WOOD  CUT. 


No. 

L  Norfolk,  wind  N.  W.  Keen  and  clear  all 
day. 

2.  Washington,  W. 

3.  Cape  May,  N.  W. 


4.  Harrisbun?.  N. 

5.  Concord,  N.  Y.,  S.  W.,  A.  M.,  W  ,  P.  M. 

6.  Fredonia,  W.  all  day. 

7.  Lewiston,  S.  W.,  A.  M.,  S.,  P.  M. 

8.  Steuben,  N.  W.  all  day. 


INVESTIGATION  OF  STORMS. 


185 


8i.  Monroe,  W.  all  day.    16th,  N. 

9:  Homer,  S.  W.,  A.  M.,  N.  W.,  P.  M.     On 

16th,  N.  W. 
9£.  Hamilton,  W.,  A.  M.,  N..  P.  M.    16th, 

W. 

10.  Utica,  W.  all  day.    15th  and  16th. 

lOi.  Cherry  Valley,  W.  all  day,   14th,  15th, 
and  16th. 

11.  Onehia,  W.  all  dny,  15th  and  16th. 

12.  Rochester,  W.  all  day    N.  W.  on  16th. 

13.  Lowville,  N.  all  day,  15th  and  16th. 

14.  Governeur,  N.  all  day,  15th  and  16th. 

15.  1'lattshurgh,  N.   all  day,  14th,   15th  and 

16th. 

16.  Granville,  N.  all  day,  14th,  15th,  16th. 

17.  Albany,  Eastward  of  North. 

18.  Lansingburgh,  N.  all  day.     16th,  N.  W. 

19.  Newburgh,  W.,  A.  M.,  N.  E.,  P.  M. 

20.  New  York,  N.  by  W.  strong  A.  M.,   N. 

W.  by  W.  before  sunset. 

21.  Mount  Pleasant,  N.W.  all  day  15th,  16th. 

22.  Schooner  Velocity,  on  A.    M.  of  15th, 

wind  S.  S.  E.  and  S.  S.  W. 

23.  Ship  Monroe,  at  9,  A.  M.  of  15th,  heavy 

gales  E.  S.  E.,  at  11  hove  to,  W.N.W. 

24.  Smithtown,  (Long  Island,  near  middle,) 

N.  E.,  A.  M.,  N.  W.,  P.  M. 

25.  New  Haven,  N.,  or  a  little  W.  of  N.  all 

the  morning ;  in  afternoon  mote  to  the 
west. 

26.  Thirty  miles  south  of  Block  Island,  E. 

southerly,  moderate  gales,  and  strong 
breezes. 

27.  Nantucket,  E.  all   morning;  at  1,  P.M. 

violent,  S.  E.    On  16th,  N.  E. 

28.  Provincetown,  from  11  to  4,  P.  M.,  most 

violent,  E.  S.  E. 

29.  New  Bedford,  E.  all  morning,  E.  very 

high  at  2,  P.  M.,  S.  S.  E.  high,  at  sun- 
set. 


30.  Woonsocket,  N.  E.  till  6,  P.  M.,  then  E. 

Great  storm,  3£  inches  when  melted. 
N.  E.  on  16th. 

31.  Capt.  Slemmer,  E.  S.  E.  a  hurricane  at  2, 

P.  M.     E.  S.  E.  all  morning. 
31£.  Schooner  Friend,  Capt.  Ed.  S.Johnson, 
U.  S.  N.     E.  N.  E.,  all  morning  very 
violent  till  3,  P.  M.     On  16th,  N.  E.  by 
N.,  heavy. 

32.  Boston,    E.  N.  E.,  violent  at  noon;   at 

sunset  E.  S.  E.,  violent. 

33.  Gloucester,  E.S.  E.,  most  disastrous  gale. 

34.  Newbnryport,  between  E.  and  N.  E.  a 

perfect  hurricane  in  the  night  of  15th. 

35.  Portsmouth,  E.,  or  N.  of  E.  during  the 

'day,  heavy  gale. 

36.  Portland,  Me.,   E.  at  11,  and  at  12  hard 

gale  ;  all  afternoon  E.  by  S.  to  E.  N.  E. 
On  16th,  north  east  storm. 

37.  Eastport,  N.  E.  all  15th  and  16th.      Jour- 

nal of  the  weather  in    the  Eastport 
Sentinel.     16th,  N.  E. 

37i.  Waterville,  N.  E.  all  day.    On  16th,  N. 
N.  E. 

38.  Concord,  N.  H.,  N.  E.  strong  ;  afternoon 

very  violent,  N.  of  N.  E. 

39.  Springfield,  N.H.,  N.  of  E.  all  day  ;  15th, 

16th  and  17th,  mostly  heavy  snow  all 
the  time. 

40.  Burlington,    N.  E.  all  day;  on  16th,  N., 

very  gentle — twenty  inches. 

41.  Bennington,  N.  W.  all  day  15th  and  16th 

42.  Amherst,  W.  of  N.,  wind  and  storm  all 

day  15th  and  morning  of  16th. 

43.  Northampton,  N.  all  day  15th  and  16th. 

44.  Hartford,  N.  W.  during  the  whole  day, 

in  evening  varied  a  point  towards  N.1 


146.  This  storm  continued  to  rage  with  violence  in  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine,  all  night  of  the  15th,  and  even  in- 
creased in  force  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  at  Boston  and 
in  the  region  south  and  west  of  Boston,  where  it  continued 
to  snow  most  of  the  day.  The  centre  of  the  storm  seems 
to  have  made  but  little  progress  towards  the  east,  if,  indeed, 
the  storm  of  16th  was  not  rather  a  renewal  of  the  storm 
nearly  in  the  same  locality,  for  it  continued  to  snow  over 
almost  the  whole  territory  from  the  western  part  of  New 
York,  to  the  eastern  part  of  Maine.  I  have  exhibited  on 
the  following  chart,  the  direction  of  the  wind  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  16th. 


1  For  original  documents,  see  Appendix. 


186 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


If  the  reader  will  examine  the  documents,  he  will  per- 
ceive that  in  the  State  of  New  York,  the  wind  was  westerly 
and  north  westerly,  and  that  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
and  the  eastern  part  of  Massachusetts  and  Nantucket,  the 
wind  was  violent  from  the  north  east.  How  far  the  storm 
at  that  time  reached  into  the  Atlantic,  our  observations  do 
not  inform  us.  One  thing,  however,  we  are  able  to  deter- 
mine —  that  the  region  of  observation  on  this  day,  was  the 
northern  end  of  the  storm,  and  it  appears  plain  that  the 
middle  line  reached  from  Vermont  down  through  Rhode 
Island  into  the  ocean,  and  that  on  each  side  of  this  line,  the 
wind  was  blowing  towards  the  line  —  with  few  excep- 
tions, in  the  middle  region.  Let  the  reader  now  consider 
that  there  had  been  an  immense  mass  of  snow  falling  for 
more  than  twenty-four  hours  at  this  time  at  some  places, 
for  example,  Woonsocket,  some  distance  south  west  from 
Boston,  3.5U  inches  of  water,  and  that  during  all  this  time, 


INVESTIGATION  OF   STORMS.  187 

on  both  sides  of  a  middle  line,  the  wind  was  blowing  to- 
wards that  line  from  Maine  to  the  western  part  of  New 
York,  and  he  will  find  in  this  storm,  much  to  cohfirm  the 
theory  advocated  in  this  book.  It  seems  highly  probable 
also,  that  this  storm  moved  towards  the  south  of  east.  For 
the  barometer  had  risen  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  at  Dor- 
chester, near  Boston,  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from 
midnight,  while  at  New  Bedford,  it  had  risen  only  three 
hundredths  of  an  inch,  and  at  Nantucket,  it  had  fallen  a  little 
during  the  same  time.  Besides  it  ceased  to  snow  at  Water- 
ville,  before  it  ceased  at  Portland,  or  Boston,  or  New  Bed- 
ford, and  many  hours  sooner  than  at  Nantucket.  And  it 
does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  snow  on  the  16th  at 
Montreal,  though  there  was  on  the  14th  and  15th. 

I  am,  perhaps,  the  more  ready  to  believe,  that  this  storm 
travelled  towards  the  south  of  east ;  because  by  examining 
a  great  many  extensive  barometric  fluctuations,  I  find  they 
generally  travel  in  that  direction,  and  it  is  known  that  these 
fluctuations  accompany  storms.  Reader,  is  it  not  worthy 
of  consideration  that  while  the  barometer  was  very  low 
for  more  than  twenty-four  hours  in  the  central  parts  of 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island,  and  a 
mighty  snow  falling  especially  there  —  the  wind  during  all 
this  time  on  the  north  east  of  this  region,  was  north  east, 
on  the  north  of  it,  north,  and  on  the  north  west  of  it,  north 
west? 

Let  the  reader  also  look  at  the  Dorchester  Journal,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Boston,  and  he  will  find  the  wind  at  sunset  was 
violent  E.  S.  E.,  instead  of  E.  N.  E.,  as  Mr.  Redfield  infers 
it  was  at  that  time. 


SECTION  FIFTH. 

EXAMINATION    OF    REm's,    PIDDINGTON's,    AND    LOOMIs's   STORMS. 

Colonel  Reid's  Storms. 

147.  PRESIDENT  A.  D.  BACHE,  on  his  return  from  Europe, 
put  into  my  hands  a  highly  interesting  work  by  Lieut.  Col. 
W.  Reid,  C.  B.,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  being  "  An  attempt 
to  develop  the  law  of  storms,  by  means  of  facts,  arranged 
according  to  place  and  time,  and  hence  to  point  out  a  cause 
for  the  variable  winds,  with  a  view  to  practical  use  in  navi- 
gation." 

This  work  is  illustrated  by  charts  showing  the  direction 
in  which  the  various  storms  investigated  moved  along  the 
surface  of  the  sea,  and  showing  the  locality  of  the  ships 
whose  logs  are  given  in  the  body  of  the  work. 

This  work  furnishes  many  additional  proofs  of  that  beau- 
tiful generalization  first  hinted  at  by  Franklin,  afterwards 
by  Dr.  Mitchell,  of  New  York,  and  lately  established  in  the 
most  satisfactory  manner,  according  to  the  true  principle  of 
inductive  philosophy,  by  William  C.  Redfield,  of  New  York : 
namely,  "  Great  storms  which  originate  in  the  Windward 
Islands  of  the  West  Indies  ;  progress  from  the  place  of  com- 
mencement in  a  curve  towards  the  N.  W.,  till  on  reaching'  the 
lat.  of  30°  N..  when  they  are  moving  nearly  towards  the  A7"., 
their  motion  after  this  is  towards  the  N.  E.  as  far  as  traced"  1 

1  Perhaps  they  sometimes  turn  E.,  or  even  S.  E. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  189 

From  all  the  facts  collected  by  Mr.  Redfield,  by  the  Joint 
Committee  of  the  American  Philosphical  Society  and  the 
Franklin  Institute,  and  by  Col.  Reid,  it  would  seem  that 
these  storms  constantly  become  wider  and  wider,  from  their 
place  of  commencement,  and  perhaps  elongated  in  their 
N.  E.  and  S.  W.  diameter  after  they  reach  a  lat.  as  high  as 
40°  or  45°. 

Col.  Reid  agrees  with  Col.  Capper  and  Mr.  Redfield,  that 
these  storms  are  in  the  form  of  great  whirlwinds ;  and  Sir 
John  Herschel,  who  is  of  the  same  opinion,  "does  not  see 
how  Mr.  Espy's  theory,  though  he  considers  it  ingenious,  is 
tenable  against  the  indications  of  the  barometer,  for,  un- 
questionably, if  a  large  body  of  air,  he  says,  were  to  set  on 
every  side  inwards  towards  a  central  ascending  column,  the 
necessary  effect  would  be  an  increase  of  weight  of  the  en- 
tire barometric  column." 

Now  this  objection  is  so  obvious,  that  any  theory,  which 
has  no  answer  for  it,  or  which  does  not  contain  an  answer 
to  it  in  itself,  does  not  deserve  the  name  of  ingenious ;  and 
it  arises  from  so  imperfect  or  inaccurate  a  view  of  the  doc- 
trine which  I  teach,  that  I  am  sure  as  soon  as  Sir  John  shall 
read  my  papers  on  the  subject,  he  will  see  and  confess  that 
the  objection  has  already  been  fully  answered.  If  I  am 
right  in  this  matter,  Sir  John  owes  it  not  merely  to  me,  but 
to  the  cause  of  science,  on  a  point  which  he  acknowledges 
to  be  of  immense  importance,  to  come  out  and  correct  his 
mistake  ;  for  such  is  the  weight  of  his  name,  that  many  will 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  examine  a  system  which  has 
been  condemned  by  Sir  John  Herschel. 

As  to  Col.  Reid,  his  whole  book  is  a  proof  that  he  is  much 
fonder  of  truth  than  of  theory.  He  will  therefore  do  me 
justice.  I  was  highly  delighted  when  this  book  came  into 
my  hands ;  for  I  saw  immediately  that  it  contained  a  great 
many  facts  and  simultaneous  observations,  which  would 
enable  me  at  once  to  put  my  theory  to  a  very  severe  test. 


190  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

On  reading  the  logs  of  the  several  ships,  I  kept  the  map 
of  the  particular  storm  open  before  me,  and,  drew  my  pencil 
across  the  point  where  the  ship  was,  drawing  an  arrow  so 
as  to  exhibit  to  the  eye  which  way  the  wind  was  blowing 
at  that  time  in  that  locality. 

When  several  logs  were  read,  and  arrows  made  in  every 
locality,  I  was  not  a  little  pleased  to  see,  in  all  the  storms, 
decided  proofs  of  an  inward  motion  of  the  air,  if  not  exactly 
to  one  common  centre,  quite  as  nearly  so  as  any  one  had  a 
right  to  expect ;  because  oblique  forces  are  known  to  exist, 
which  must  vary  the  direction  of  the  wind.  I  shall  now 
give  a  few  examples  of  that  period  of  the  several  storms,  in 
which  I  find  the  most  simultaneous  observations. 


Savannah  la  Mar  Hurricane  of  3d  Oct.  1780. 

148.  About  1,  P.  M.,  at  Savannah  la  Mar,  on  the  3d,  the 
gale  began  from  the  S.  E.,  and  continued  with  increasing 
violence  until  four  in  the  afternoon,  when  it  veered  to  the 
S.,  and  became  a  perfect  tempest,  which  lasted  in  force  till 
about  eight ;  it  then  abated.  The  sea,  during  the  last  period, 
exhibited  a  most  awful  scene ;  the  waves  swelled  to  an 
amazing  height,  rushed  with  an  impetuosity  not  to  be  de- 
scribed on  the  land,  and  in  a  few  minutes  determined  the 
fate  of  all  the  houses  in  the  bay. 

Log-  of  the  Badger,  at  Lucia  Bay,  Jamaica.  —  P.  M.,  of 
2d,  moderate  wind,  N.  E.,  at  9,  hard  rain,  and  continued 
raining  all  night,  with  squally  weather ;  at  10,  A.  M.;  of  the 
3d,  tripped  our  anchor,  let  her  drive  within  the  point  of  the 
Fort  till  it  bore  N.  by  E.,  distant  three-quarters  of  a  mile, 
and  the  eastermost  N.  E.  by  N.,  distance  one  mile  and  a 
half;  heavy  squalls  with  hard  rain;  down  top-gallant  sails. 
1,  P.  M.,  wind  N.  E.,  let  go  the  sheet  anchor  in  five  and  a 
half  fathoms :  muddy ;  veered  the  cable,  and  brought  both 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  191 

anchors  ahead ;  continued  very  heavy  gales  with  hard  rain. 
At  4,  let  go  another  anchor.  At  3.30,  both  sheet  and  bower 
anchors  came  home ;  veered  away  the  clink  round  the  mast, 
when  the  best  cable  parted,  and  then  immediately  the  sheet 
cable  parted  likewise.  At  5,  she  was  driving  on  shore  very 
fast,  when  a  gust  of  wind  laid  her  down,  with  the  comings 
of  the  hatchway  in  the  water.  By  consent  of  the  captain 
and  officers,  cut  away  the  weather  halyard  to  the  main 
shrowds,  when  the  main-mast  went  about  twenty  feet  above 
deck;  she  immediately  righted,  and  drove  broad-side  on 
shore,  abreast  of  the  town ;  the  sea  making  a  free  passage 
over  us,  when  our  boat  went  to  pieces  along  side.  At  5.30, 
cut  the  bower  cable  to  let  her  swing  end  on.  About  6,  it 
fell  calm  for  half  an  hour,  when  the  wind  shifted  round  to 
S.  W.,  blowing  a  hurricane  with  strong  flashes  of  lightning. 
At  10,  it  became  quite  moderate. 

The  Phoenix,  off  Port  Antonio. — When  the  Phoenix  was 
in  company  with  the  Barbadoes,  off  Port  Antonio,  the  wind 
began  to  blow,  with  a  stormy  appearance,  to  the  eastward, 
about  11,  at  night,  of  the  2d  of  October,  and  the  Phoenix 
then  close  reefed  her  top-sails.  At  8,  on  the  morning  of  the 
3d,  the  wind  was  E.  N.  E.,  with  occasional  heavy  squalls; 
and  Sir  Hyde  Parker,  who  commanded  the  Phoenix,  re- 
marked that  the  weather  had  the  same  appearance  as  he 
had  observed  in  the  commencement  of  a  hurricane  in  the 
East  Indies.  He  then  ordered  the  top-sails  to  be  taken  in, 
arid  wore  the  ship,  in  order  to  keep  mid  channel  between 
Jamaica  and  Cuba.  At  2,  P.  M.,  the  Phoenix  lay-to,  with 
a  storm  mizzen  stay-sail,  and  her  head  to  the  northward. 
When  night  set  in,  the  storm  increased  with  great  violence. 
At  midnight,  the  wind  was  south  east,  and  the  ship  draw- 
ing upon  Cuba,  Sir  Hyde  Parker  determined  to  wear  her, 
but  no  canvass  could  withstand  the  wind  at  this  time,  and 
she  was  wore  by  sending  two  hundred  of  the  crew  into  the 
fore-rigging.  When  about  to  cut  away  the  masts,  the  ship 


192  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

took  the  ground  on  the  coast  of  Cuba ;  and  it  was  5  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  October. 

Journal  of  Princess  Royal,  in  Port  Royal  Harbor.  —  On 
2d  October,  the  wind  was  S.  E.  and  E.  S.  E.,  A.  M.,  and 
the  people  employed  in  caulking  the  ship's  bottom.  P.  M., 
the  wind  was  S.  E.  by  E.,  and  squally  weather  with  rain; 
people  employed  as  before;  violent  squalls  with  heavy  rain 
in  the  night,  wind  from  the  south-eastward.  On  the  3d, 
A.  M.,  the  wind  E.  S.  E.  to  S.  E.,  and  gale  increasing  with 
much  rain  ;  people  employed  in  securing  the  ship ;  by  the 
violence  of  the  wind  in  the  night,  the  mizzen-topsail,  fore- 
top-gallantsail,  and  main-top-gallantsail,  that  were  covering 
tents  in  the  yard,  and  had  been  condemned  by  survey  on 
the  30th  of  September,  were  entirely  blown  to  pieces.  P.  M., 
wind  S.  S.  E.,  and  excessive  hard  squalls,  with  thunder, 
lightning  and  rain ;  people  employed  as  before.  At  mid- 
night, more  moderate  and  light  rain. 


yPort  Antonio. 
Port  Royal. 

All  day  till  11,  P.  M. 


1.  Savannah  la  Mar ;  destroyed,  Oct.  3, 1780. 

These  are  all  the  data  we  have  concerning  this  storm,  yet 
it  will  be  seen,  though  we  have  no  observations  on  the 
western  half  of  this  storm,  that  the  centre  of  it  passed  over 
Lucia  bay,  from  6  to  6£,  P.  M.,  and  at  that  very  time,  and 
for  some  time  before  and  after,  the  wind  on  the  other  side 
of  the  island  at  Savannah  la  Mar,  was  blowing  a  hurricane 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS,  193 

from  the  south,  exactly  towards  Lucia  bay.  The  wind  also 
at  Port  Royal,  in  the  south  east  corner  of  the  island,  was 
blowing  nearly  to  the  same  point,  and  from  the  log  of  the 
Phrenix,  some  place  between  the  east  end  of  Jamaica  and 
Cuba,  the  wind  was  violent  E.  N.  E.,  almost  exactly  towards 
Lucia  bay.  The  reader  will  observe  that  when  the  wind 
changed  at  Lucia  bay,  and  with  the  Phosnix,  all  the  four 
arrows,  if  drawn  on  the  chart,  would  point  to  a  spot  near 
where  the  Phoenix  was  wrecked,  not  many  hours  after- 
wards, on  Cuba. 


Great  Barbadoes  Hurricane,  of  October  11,  1780. 

149.  At  Carlisle  bay,  on  the  west  side  of  Barbadoes,  it 
was  remarkably  calm  on  the  evening  of  the  9th  October, 
but  the  sky  was  remarkably  red  and  fiery.  During  the 
night,  much  rain  fell.  On  the  morning  of  the  10th,  much 
rain  and  wind  from  the  N.  W.  By  10,  it  increased  very 
much.  By  4,  P.  M.,  the  Albemarle  frigate  parted  and  went 
to  sea,  as  did  all  the  other  vessels,  about  twenty-five  in 
number.  By  10,  P.  M.,  the  wind  forced  itself  a  passage 
through  the  house  from  the  N.  N.  W.,  and  the  tempest  in- 
creased every  minute. 

At  St.  Lucia  —  All  the  barracks  and  other  buildings  in 
the  island  were  blown  down. 

At  St.  Vincent —  Every  building  was  blown  down. 

At  the  town  of  St.  Pierre,  in  Martinique  —  Every  house 
was  blown  down,  and  more  than  one  thousand  people 
perished. 

At  Fort  Royal — Fourteen  hundred  houses,  besides  the 
churches  and  public  buildings,  were  blown  down. 

At  St.  Eustatia  —  On  the  morning  of  10th,  at  11  o'clock, 
the  sky  on  a  sudden  blackened  all  round ;  it  looked  as  dis- 
mal as  night,  attended  with  the  most  violent  rains,  thunder, 

25 


194  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

and  lightning  ever  known  before.  In  the  afternoon,  the 
gale  increased.  In  the  night,  every  house  to  the  northward 
and  southward  was  blown  down  or  washed  away  into  the 
sea,  a  few  only  escaping.  The  houses  on  the  east  and  west 
were  not  so  much  hurt,  till  the  P.  M.  of  the  llth,  when  the 
wind,  on  a  sudden,  shifted  to  the  eastward ;  and  at  night  it 
blew  with  redoubled  fury,  and  swept  away  every  house. 

At  Barbadoes  —  It  began  to  blow  on  the  9th,  but  on  the 
evening  of  the  10th  the  wind  rose  to  such  a  degree  of  vio- 
lence as  clearly  to  amount  to  what  is  called  a  hurricane. 
At  8,  P.  M.,  it  began  to  make  impression  on  all  the  houses 
by  tearing  off  the  roofs,  and  overthrowing  some  of  the  walls. 
It  was  thought  to  be  at  its  greatest  height  about  midnight, 
and  did  not  abate  considerably  until  8  next  morning. 

Log  of  the  ship  Albemarle,  lying  in  Carlisle  Bay,  on  the 
west  side  of  Barbadoes.  —  On  the  afternoon  of  the  9th,  wind 
E.,  moderate  and  hazy.  Morning  of  10th,  E.  N.  E.,  blow- 
ing very  hard.  At  1,  P.  M.,  N.  E.  by  N.,  strong  gales  with 
hard  rain  at  times.  The  gale  increasing,  the  officers  de- 
cided to  go  to  sea,  which  was  done  at  2,  P.  M.,  wind  N.  N.  E. 
At  30  minutes  past  midnight,  still  blowing  a  hurricane,  with 
rain,  and  wind  shifting  to  westward.  At  5,  in  the  morning 
of  llth,  the  wind  shifted  round  to  the  southward,  still 
blowing  very  hard,  with  constant  rain.  At  noon,  still  blow- 
ing a  hurricane,  with  hard  rain.  P.  M.,  still  blowing  a  hur- 
ricane, with  wind  S.  E.  by  S.,  with  constant  heavy  rain. 
At  4,  saw  the  north  west  end  of  Barbadoes,  bearing  N.  E. 
by  N.,  distance  four  or  five  miles.  At  4.30,  wind  shifted 
round  to  S.  E.,  and  heavy  gales  of  wind  with  constant  rain. 
At  5,  A.  M.,  of  12th,  more  moderate,  but  fresh  gales  con- 
tinued S.  E.,  in  P.  M. 

Log  of  the  Vengeance.  —  Moored  in  Careenage,  on  west 
side  of  St.  Lucia.  Dark  cloudy  weather  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  9th.  The  Blanche  and  Alcmene  sailed  at  6,  A.  M., 
of  10th.  On  the  afternoon  of  10th,  strong  squalls;  at  7.30, 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  195 

P.  M.,  very  strong  squalls,  variable.  At  9,  P.  M.,  the  Ajax 
parted  her  cables  and  went  out  to  sea.  At  11,  the  gale  in- 
creased very  much.  At  12,  the  Egmont  slipped  and  went 
out  to  sea  —  wind  variable  all  this  time.  At  4.30,  A.  M., 
of  llth,  the  Montagu  slipped  and  ran  out  to  sea.  At  8.30, 
wind  N.  E.,  and  the  Amazon  slipped  and  ran  out  to  sea. 
Several  transports  drove  on  shore  and  dismasted  in  the  har- 
bor. At  noon,  violent  squalls  and  N.  E.  At  12.15,  parted 
the  small  bower  and  brought  up  with  the  stream  and  sheet 

anchors Cutaway  the  long  boat,  cutter,  and  schooner 

tender,  which  were  immediately  dashed  to  pieces  ;  the  hur- 
ricane still  increasing  and  the  ship  striking  at  times.  At  8, 
wind  N.  by  E.,  and  veering  round  to  eastward.  At  9,  light- 
ning between  the  squalls,  still  blowing  excessively  hard, 
with  rain.  At  10,  less  wind  with  more  rain  and  lightning. 
At  12,  the  hurricane  abated  with  rain.  At  4,  on  morning 
of  12th,  strong  gales  and  squally,  with  heavy  rain.  At  11, 
A.  M.,  wind  E.  S.  E.  In  the  afternoon,  wind  E.  S.  E., 
moderate,  with  rain.  At  8,  thunder  and  lightning  and  rain. 
Log  of  the  Alcmene.  —  At  1,  P.  M.,  of  10th,  wind  N.  N. 
E.,  fresh  breeze  and  squally.  At  2,  P.  M.,  got  under 
way  from  the  Careenage  in  St.  Lucia,  in  company  with 
the  Blanche.  At  5,  P.  M.,  N.  \  E.,  Martinique  E.  \  N., 
6  leagues.  At  8,  N.  by  E.  At  10,  N.  N.  E.  At  3  in 
the  morning  of  llth,  N.  by  E.,  hard  gales  and  rain.  At 
7,  N.  N.  E.  At  10,  very  hard  gales  and  rain;  great 
sea.  At  1,  P.  M.,  hard  gales  and  thick  weather  with 
rain,  wind  variable.  At  4,  lost  sight  of  the  Blanche 
bearing  S.  S.  E.,  half  a  mile.  From  5  till  9,  wind  N.  W., 
and  gale  increasing.  At  12,  gale  still  increasing,  and 
wind  S.  E.,  from  10.  At  3,  A.  M.,  of  12th,  wind  S.  W. 
At  7,  wind  S.  by  W.  At  10,  gale  abated,  saw  a  ship  ahead, 
supposed  to  be  the  Blanche.  At  1,  P.  M.,  wind  S.  S.  E., 
fresh  gales  and  squally.  At  3,  P.  M.,  wind  S.  E.  At  10, 
saw  Martinique  E.  by  N.,  5  leagues. 


196  .PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Log  of  the  Egmont.  —  At  10,  A.  M.,  of  the  10th,  squally 
and  wind  variable.  At  12,  northwardly,  squally  and  hard 
rain,  sailed  from  the  Careenage  in  St.  Lucia  in  company 
with  the  Blanche  and  Alcmene.  At  1,  P.  M.,  wind  N. 
by  N.,  fresh  gales  and  squally,  with  rain.  At  6,  P.  M., 
E.  N.  E.  At  7,  came  on  a  heavy  squall  of  wind  with 
rain,  which  parted  the  small  bower  cable  at  twenty  fath- 
oms from  the  anchor.  At  9,  wind  N.  At  10,  N.  by  W. 
At  11.30,  cut  away  the  best  bower  at  a  whole  cable  and 
went  to  sea.  Midnight,  N.  E.  by  N.,  split  the  main  top- 
mast-stay sail.  At  4,  A.  M.,  of  llth,  strong  gales  with 
hard  squalls  of  rain.  At  7,  carried  away  the  main-stay 
sail.  At  8,  A.  M.,  wind  N.  by  W.  At  noon,  St.  Lucia, 
N.  19°  E.,  distance  thirteen  leagues.  At  1,  P.  M.,  of  llth, 
wind  N.  E.,  very  strong  gales  with  hard  squalls  and  rain. 
From  10  at  night,  till  8  next  morning,  while  the  storm  was 
most  violent,  the  wind  was  from  all  quarters.  It  then  be- 
came S.  S.  E.  and  S.  E.,  and  so  continued  till  the  end  of 
the  storm.  At  noon,  of  12th,  St.  Lucia,  N.  E.  by  E.  f  E., 
distance  eleven  leagues. 

Log-  of  the  Montagu,  lying  off  the  entrance  of  the  Ca- 
reenage, St  Lucia.  — On  P.  M.,  of  10th,  wind  N.,  strong 
gales  with  heavy  squalls  of  rain  and  a  heavy  swell  from 
N.  W.  At  midnight,  parted  or  slipped  ship  Ajax.  At  3, 
A.  M.,  of  llth,  slipped  and  put  to  sea  the  ship  Egmont.  At 
5.30,  in  preparing  to  slip  and  put  to  -sea,  we  parted  our 
stream  and  small  bower  cables  ;  stood  out  W.  N.  W.,  till  8, 
A.  M.  South  end  of  St.  Lucia,  then  bore  S.  S.  E.,  nine  or 
ten  leagues,  wind  N.  N.  E.,  brought  her  to  with  her  head 
to  the  northward,  up  N.  W.,  off  W.  by  N.,  very  strong  gales. 
At  1,  P.  M.,  wind  N.  N.  E.,  a  very  heavy  storm,  with  rain. 
At  3.30,  in  cutting  the  main  and  fore-topmast,  the  main- 
mast, fore  and  mizzenmast,  all  went  over  the  side  ;  a  heavy 
storm  of  rain.  At  4.15,  the  bowspit  went  by  the  outer 
gammon,  and  carried  away  the  greater  part  of  the  head. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  197 

At  6  and  8,  wind  N.  by  W.,  weather  the  same,  and  very 
high  sea.  At  5,  A.  M.,  wind  W.  S.  W.  and  more  moderate. 
At  9,  A.  M.,  saw  the  Sugar  Loaves  of  St.  Lucia  bearing 
E.  \  N.,  distance  four  leagues ;  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent 
then  E.  S.  E.,  distance  six  leagues.  At  noon,  moderate 
breezes  and  high  sea,  cloudy  with  rain  —  Sugar  Loaves  E., 
distance  two  leagues. 

Log  of  the  Amazon,  in  the  Careenage.  —  On  the  afternoon 
of  10th,  fresh  breezes  with  hard  squalls.  At  6,  P.  M.,  the 
Egmont  parted,  and  brought  up  again  under  our  stern.  At 
9,  the  Ajax  put  to  sea.  At  11,  the  Egmont  cut  and  put  to 
sea ;  excessive  hard  gales  with  rain.  At  4,  A.  M.,  wind 
northeasterly,  the  Montagu  parted  and  put  to  sea.  At  7.30, 
finding  the  gale  increase,  slipped  the  small  bower  and  stream 
cables,  and  cut  the  best  and  put  to  sea.  Noon,  blowing  a 
hurricane  with  a  heavy  sea.  At  2,  P.  M.,  blowing  a  per- 
fect hurricane  N.  E.  At  7.30,  by  the  violence  of  the  hur- 
ricane, the  ship  overset,  and  lay  in  that  situation  7  or  8 
minutes.  At  8,  the  wind  N.  W.,  and  ship  quite  righted 
with  10  feet  water  in  the  hold.  At  2,  A.  M.,  of  12th, 
pumps  choaked  with  seven  feet  water  in  the  hold.  At  4, 
A.  M.,  found  the  wind  abate.  At  noon,  wind  N.  N.  W., 
gale  much  abated.  In  P.  M.,  wind  E.  by  S.,  first  part  hard 
gales  with  rain.  At  5,  wind  had  been  quite  round  the  com- 
pass in  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  On  the  afternoon  of 
13th,  wind  still  E.  by  S.,  with  fresh  gales  and  hazy  weather 
with  rain.  At  6,  the  body  of  Martinique  E.  by  S.,  distance 
eight  or  ten  leagues. 

Log  of  the  Endymion,  N.  N.  E.  of  Martinico.  —  On  the 
afternoon  of  the  10th,  wind  N.  E.,  strong  gales  and  hard 
squalls.  At  4,  saw  the  N.  E.  end  of  Martinico  S.  W.  by  S., 
distance  seven  leagues.  At  midnight,  strong  gales  continue. 
At  8,  A.  M.,  of  llth,  wind  E.  N.  E.,  heavy  gales  and 
strong  squalls.  At  noon,  blows  strong  and  violent  squalls, 
N.  E.  end  of  Martinico  W.  S.  W.,  distance  four  leagues. 


198  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

At  1,  P.  M.,  wind  E.  N.  E.,  strong  gales  and  hard  squalls. 
At  3,  A.  M.,  of  12th,  just  weathered  the  Island  of  Caraval, 
the  N.  E.  end  of  Martinico.  At  5,  the  wind  E.  At  7,  wind 
E.  by  N.,  hove  to  under  a  mizzen  topsail.  At  noon,  wind 
E.  S.  E.,  continuing  a  heavy  gale  and  violent  squalls.  N. 
end  of  Martinico,  distance  fifteen  leagues. 

To  these  particulars  extracted  from  Col.  Reid,  I  am  ena- 
bled to  add  the  following  from  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  of 
1780. 

Pennsylvania  Gazette  of  December  13, 1780. — At  Bridge- 
town, Barbadoes,  (which  is  on  the  south  west  side)  the 
wind  began  to  blow  very  fresh  soon  after  daybreak  of  Tues- 
day the  10th  of  October,  and  increased  till  4  o'clock  next 
morning.  The  wind  during  the  greater  part  of  the  hurri- 
cane, blew  from  the  N.  E.  quarter,  and  never  shifted  to  the 
southward  further  than  S.  E. 

From  the  same  paper  of  December  6.  —  On  the  10th,  at 
St.  Pierre,  on  the  west  side  of  Martinique,  a  sudden  gale 
sprung  up  from  N.  E.,  and  though  the  gale  increased  and 
continued  without  intermission,  the  shipping  kept  their  sta- 
tions as  the  wind  blew  off  the  land  till  the  1 1th.  On  the 
night  of  the  llth,  the  wind  shifted  to  the  southward,  and 
after  continuing  there  two  or  three  hours,  shifted  to  the 
S.  W.,  and  blew  right  on  shore.  Between  2  and  3  o'clock 
of  the  morning  of  the  12th,  the  sea  was  thrown  into  the 
most  violent  agitation,  and  raged  with  in-credible  fury,  and 
destroyed  many  houses  and  stores  on  the  bay. 

At  St.  Christophers,  the  wind  abated  on  Saturday,  the 
14th,  but  about  8  o'clock,  it  changed  to  the  southward,  and 
drove  the  Minerva  on  shore.  At  Bassatere,  St.  Christophers, 
it  began  a  gale  about  midnight  of  Wednesday  the  llth, 
and  increased  all  next  day. 

Same  paper  of  December  20.  —  At  St.  Vincents,  the  wind 
came  round  to  N.  W.,  on  Tuesday  night  the  10th,  and  blew 
very  fresh  all  night  from  that  quarter.  At  sunrise,  it  came 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  199 

rather  more  to  the  westward,  and  the  gale  increased,  and 
from  12  till  4,  P.  M.,  there  never  was  such  a  scene.  The 
wind  began  to  abate  at  5,  P.  M. 

Chart  of  the  Great  Barbadoes  Hurricane,  October  11 /A,  1780,  showing  the 
course  of  the  wind  at  6,  P.  M. 


Barbadoes. 


1.  Montagu  from  6  to  8,  P.  M.  4.  Endymion  from  P.  M.  of  10th  to  12th. 

2.  Amazon  at  2,  P.  M.  5.  Albemarle  from  4£,  P.  M.,  till  next  day. 

3.  Alcmene  from  5,  till  9,  P.  M. 

The  dotted  line  is  the  course  which  the  centre  of  the  storm  moved  in. 

By  casting  the  eye  on  the  map  which  is  intended  to 
represent  the  locality  of  the  storm  at  6,  P.  M.,  of  the 
llth,  it  will  be  seen  that  all  the  arrows  fairly  within  the 
action  of  the  storm  are  directed  inwards  to  a  central  space 
of  no  great  magnitude. 

This  action  lasted  for  several  hours  of  the  evening  of  the 
llth ;  and  did  not  vary  until  the  centre  of  the  storm,  to- 
wards midnight,  passed  the  Alcmene,  the  Egmont,  and  the 
Montagu,  in  its  motion  towards  the  N.  W.  And  it  is  wor- 
thy of  particular  remark,  that  as  the  storm  passed  on,  the 
wind  to  all  these  vessels,  changed  round  to  the  S.  E.,  as  it 
had  already  done  at  Barbadoes,  and  to  the  Albemarle,  near 
Barbadoes. 


200  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Now  as  the  centre  of  the  storm  passed  over  or  very  near 
all  these  places,  it  will  readily  be  perceived  that  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  wind  changed,  accords  exactly  with  the 
idea,  that  the  wind  blows  inwards  towards  the  centre  of 
these  storms ;  and  not  at  all  with  the  notion  that  it  blows 
in  the  form  of  a  whirlwind.  When  I  take  up  some  of  the 
other  storms,  I  shall  notice  this  fact  more  particularly.  I 
shall  only  mention  here  that  Mr.  Edwards  says,  in  the  third 
volume  of  his  History  of  Jamaica,  that  "  all  hurricanes 
begin  from  the  N.y  veer  back  to  the  W.  N.  W.t  W.,  and 
S.  S.  W.j  and  ivhen  got  round  to  S.  E.,  the  foul  weather 
breaks  up"  And  Col.  Capper  in  speaking  of  a  great  hur- 
ricane which  occurred  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel,  on  the 
29th  October,  1768,  page  60,  says:  "the  wind  began  from 
the  N.  W.,  as  is  usual  at  the  commencement  of  these  hurri- 
canes" 

I  shall  not  give  charts  of  this  storm  for  the  subsequent 
days;  but  if  any  one  who  has  Col.  Reid's  book,  will  read 
the  logs  of  the  Endymion,  and  the  Convert,  and  the  Eg- 
mont,  and  the  Diamond,  for  the  15th  and  16th,  he  will  find, 
if  he  draws  arrows  on  the  charts  representing  the  direction 
of  the  wind  on  these  several  days,  a  remarkable  conver- 
gence towards  the  centre  of  the  storm.  And  if  he  extends 
his  observations  to  the  17th  and  18th,  he  may  include  the 
Grafton,  with  the  ships  mentioned  before.  Now  as  these 
ships  were  several  hundred  miles  apart,  the  evidence  is  con- 
clusive, that  on  all  these  days  the  wind  did  blow  inwards 
to  the  centre  of  the  storm. 

But  there  is  one  remarkable  feature  in  this  storm  which 
must  not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  Its  centre  in  its  motion 
turned  out  of  its  regular  course  and  passed  over  Martinique, 
a  little  after  midnight  of  the  llth.  At  this  time  the  Endy- 
mion, on  the  N.  N.  E.  of  that  island,  had  the  wind  violent 
from  the  E.  N.  E. ;  and  at  St.  Pierre,  on  the  south  west 
side  of  the  same  island,  the  wind  was  S.  W.  And  the 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  201 

Alcmene,  some  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  to  the  S.  S.  W.  of 
the  island,  had  the  wind  S.  W.  to  S.  S.  W.,  about  the  same 
time  for  several  hours.  The  intelligent  reader  will  perceive 
how  the  wind  from  the  N.  E.  striking  on  the  eastern  side 
of  this  island  whose  mountains  are  of  considerable  height, 
would  glance  upwards,  and  thus  form  a  cloud  over  the 
island,  and  thus  cause  the  centre  of  the  storm  to  locate  it- 
self for  a  time  over  that  island. 


Antigua  Hurricane  of  2d  August,  1837,  at  Antigua. 

150.  On  the  2d  of  August,  between  2  and  3,  A.  M.,  we 
had  a  smart  gale  from  north,  which  crept  gradually  round 
by  the  north  west,  west,  and  south  west,  until  it  died  away 
in  the  south  east. 

One  barometer  at  Antigua,  in  the  gale  of  the  2d,  only 
sunk  .43,  another  sunk  .63. 

At  Nevis,  on  the  morning  of  August  2d,  between  3  and  4, 
the  wind  being  north,  a  shower  of  rain  fell.  At  half  past 
6,  A.  M.,  the  wind  began  to  rise  until  8,  it  then  shifted  to 
the  N.  N.  W.,  and  gradually  increased  in  gusts  until  10, 
during  which  time  much  rain  fell.  The  wind  then  veered 
to  the  westward,  and  next  to  due  south,  then  back  to  south 
west,  and  last  backed  to  south  again,  from  whence  it  blew 
steadily  and  with  violence  until  2,  P.  M.,  when  it  abated. 

At  St.  Kitts,  early  on  Wednesday  morning,  the  2d  of 
August,  the  wind  blew  strong  from  the  north,  and  indicated 
the  forthcoming  storm.  At  about  8,  A.  M.,  it  veered  to 
N.  W.,  and  shortly  afterwards  to  west,  during  which  time, 
it  blew  a  perfect  gale,  throwing  a  tremendous  sea  into  the 
harbor,  and  threatening  the  destruction  of  every  vessel. 

At  St.  Bartholomew,  the  storm  commenced  at  north  east, 
and  continued  to  increase  in  violence  until  2,  P.  M. 

At  St.  Martin,  a  gale  commenced  about  9,  A.   M.,  and 


202  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

raged  with  great  violence  from  11,  A.  M.,  to  2,  P.  M.,  veer- 
ing from  E.  N.  E.,  to  N.  W. 

At  Santa  Cruz,  on  Monday  the  31st  July,  1837,  the 
weather  was  moderate ;  several  ships  sailed  on  Tuesday, 
the  1st  of  August ;  in  the  evening,  the  wind  was  north  east, 
and  the  weather  moderate.  On  Wednesday,  the  2d,  the 
wind  during  the  night  had  shifted  to  the  north  ;  the  weather 
looked  squally,  cloudy  and  suspicious,  and  continued  so 
during  the  afternoon ;  the  wind  shifted  gradually  to  the 
N.  N.  W.  At  1,  P.  M.,  the  falling  of  the  barometer,  the 
appearance  of  the  weather,  and  the  increasing  wind,  left  us 
no  doubt  of  the  approaching  storm,  and  it  came  on  from  the 
north  west,  between  3  and  4  P.  M.  The  mercury  continued 
falling,  and  the  gale  increasing,  until  half  past  6,  P.  M., 
when  the  wind  became  westerly.  At  7,  P.  M.,  the  mercury 
began  slowly  to  ascend,  and  yet  the  storm  increased  in  vio- 
lence. At  8,  P.  M.,  it  was  blowing  a  hurricane  from  the 
west  south  west,  to  the  south  west,  coming  in  furious  gusts 
until  10,  P.  M.,  when  a  certain  decrease  in  their  violence 
had  taken  place,  which  abatement  continued  until  Thurs- 
day morning,  the  3d  of  August,  when  it  blew  a  fresh  gale 
from  the  south. 

Log-  of  the  Water-  Witch.  —  Arrived  off  St.  Thomas  on 
the  2d  August ;  morning  squally,  and  the  Water- Witch 
was  off  St.  John's,  and  standing  for  St.  Thomas's,  the  wind 
N.  and  N.  N.  W.  Noon,  shipping  in  the  harbor  visible ; 
at  1,  P.  M.  squalls  violent;  at  3,  P.  we  had  beat  up  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  forts,  when  we  could  proceed  no  further 
from  the  violence  of  the  squalls,  and  anchored  in  ten 
fathoms  water  ;  sent  down  top-gallant-yards,  &c. ;  did  not 
suspect  a  hurricane.  At  5,  P.  M.  squalls  ceased,  and  began 
a  heavy  gale  of  wind,  at  that  time  off  the  land.  At  7, 
P.  M.  a  hurricane  beyond  all  description,  dreadful ;  the 
windlass  capsized,  and  I  could  not  slip  my  cables,  ship 
driving  until  I  was  in  twenty  fathoms  water ;  a  calm  then 


EXAMINATION   OF  REID'S  STORMS.  203 

succeeded  fpr  about  ten  minutes,  and  then  in  the  most  tre- 
mendous unearthly  screech  I  ever  heard,  it  recommenced 
from  the  S.  and  S.  W.  I  now  considered  it  all  over  with 
us,  for  the  wind  was  directly  on  shore,  and  the  sea  rose 
and  ran  mountain  high.  At  2,  A.  M.,  the  gale  abated 
somewhat)  and  the  barometer  rose  an  inch ;  at  daylight, 
out  of  forty  vessels,  the  Water  Witch  and  one  other  were 
the  only  two  not  sunk,  ashore,  or  capsized. 

Porto  Rico.—M  4,  P.  M.,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1837,  in 
consequence  of  having  observed  the  barometer  falling,  I 
ordered  all  the  vessels  in  the  harbor  to  prepare  for  stormy 
weather,  although  the  fall  of  the  barometer  was  not  great. 


At  8  P.  M. barometer  at  29.6 

9     "  "  29.5 

10     "  "  29.4 


At  12,  midnight,  barome.  28  00 
UA.  M.  "       29.17 


4      "  "       29.50 


11  29.3 

At  9,  P.  M.  the  wind  was  strong  N.  N.  E.  At  11  veer- 
ing to  east,  and  blowing  in  an  alarming  and  furious  degree 
till  midnight,  when  every  vessel  was  sunk  or  ashore.  At 
4,  the  wind  fell,  and  then  veered  to  the  S. 


Antigua  Hurricane  of2d  August,  P.  M.,  1837. 

fromdPM. 

Stlhotmas*  &  TU- 

^    I        SfMa,         ^^Tt. 

O 


-FromS^M-^Kif 


151.  It  appears,  from  these  accounts,  that  the  wind,  from 
some  time  before  2,  P.  M.  till  2,  was  blowing  inwards  to 
a  central  space  between  Antigua  and  St.  Martins,  from 
four  different  localities,  Antigua,  Nevis,  St.  Martins  and 
St.  Bartholomew. 


204  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

It  is  worthy  also  of  particular  remark,  that  the  barometer 
fell  at  Porto  Rico  to  28  inches,  and  rose  to  29.17  in  an  hour 
and  a  half.  As  this  storm  moved  about  10  miles  in  an 
hour,  it  would  appear  that  the  barometer  was  lower  in  the 
middle  of  the  storm  by  1.17  inches  than  it  was  at  the  dis- 
tance of  fifteen  miles,  and  if  so,  the  velocity  of  the  up- 
moving  column  in  the  middle  of  the  storm  may  be  calcu- 
lated according  to  the  laws  of  spouting  fluids,  and  will  be 
found  to  be  upwards  of  260  feet  per  second.  From  this 
the  quantity  of  vapor  condensed  in  a  second  may  be  cal- 
culated. 


Barbadoes  Hurricane  of  26th  July,  1837. 

152.  At  Barbadoes  —  At  2  o'clock,  A.  M.  of  26th  July, 
light  showers  of  rain,  wind  shifting  from  south  to  north 
west,  the  sky  dark  and  gloomy,  with  flashes  of  lightning 
in  the  south  east  and  south  west.  At  4,  calm,  with  a 
heavy  swell  rolling  into  the  bay;  lightning  and  thunder, 
sky  assuming  a  black  appearance,  with  a  red  glare  at  the 
verge  of  the  horizon  ;  every  flash  of  lightning  with  an  un- 
usual whizzing  noise,  like  that  of  a  red  hot  iron  plunged  in 
water ;  at  6,  the  barometer  fell  rapidly,  the  sympiesometer 
much  agitated  and  unsettled,  and  fell  at  length  to  28.45. 
At  7.30  the  hurricane  burst  on  us  in  all  its  dreadful  fury : 
at  8  it  shifted  from  east  south  east  to  south,  and  blew  for 
half  an  hour,  so  that  we  could  hardly  stand  on  deck ;  the 
wind  shifting  to  south  west,  at  9  the  barometer  began  to 
rise,  and  to  our  great  joy  we  saw  a  change  in  the  sky  for 
the  better.  As  the  haze  cleared  away,  we  counted  twenty- 
one  sail  driven  on  shore. 

At  St.  Vincent.  — Our  paper  from  St.  Vincent  informs  us 
that  the  gale  of  the  26th  July  was  severely  felt  there;  the 
wind  being  from  the  west  and  south  with  a  heavy  swell  of 
the  sea. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS. 


205 


At  St.  Lucia.  —  We  have  experienced  a  severe  gale  from 
tae  north  west,  which  lasted  several  hours. 

At  Martinique.  —  Martinique  suffered  a  severe  gale  on 
the  26th  July,  from  the  south  east.  The  tempest  raged 
there  at  10,  P.  M.,  at  which  hour  all  was  calm  at  Bar- 
badoes. 

When  the  storm  was  raging  at  Martinique,  it  was  calm 
at  Barbadoes. 

The  wind  at  Barbadoes  commenced  from  the  N.  W. 


wind  at  first 


wind  after  it  changed        2 


7J  till  8,  A.  M. 
•-•—from  8  till  9,  A.  M. 


153.  It  is  evident  that  the  wind  in  all  these  four  storms, 
blew  inwards  from  the  circumference  towards  a  central 
space  of  no  great  magnitude.  I  shall  at  some  future  time 
examine  the  other  hurricanes  in  which  simultaneous  obser- 
vations can  be  found,  and  I  hope  to  show  some  strong  cases 
in  favor  of  an  inward  motion.  There  is  one  which  I  have 
already  examined,  which  is  more  striking  than  any  of  the 
four  here  given  ;  I  mean  that  of  the  18th  of  August,  1837. 
I  have  been  able  to  add  from  the  American  newspapers 
some  observations  on  that  storm,  which  will  render  the 
phenomena  much  more  striking.  These  observations  are 
copied  here  for  the  sake  of  those  who  may  have  Col.  Reid's 
book,  who  can  then  examine  the  storm  for  themselves. 

The  Philadelphia  Commercial  Herald,  of  28th  of  August, 
says,  "  barque  King  Philip  on  the  18th  of  Aug.  lat.  31°  12', 
long.  78°  16',  gale  from  N.  N.  E.  to  W.  N.  W." 


206  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  same  paper  of  29th  of  August,  says,  "brigOgle- 
thorpe,  on  the  18th  August,  lat.  32°  29',  long.  78°  55'  had  a 
violent  gale  from  N.  W," 

If  the  reader  will  now  turn  to  Col.  Reid's  account  of  this 
storm,  and  mark  with  his  pencil  on  the  chart  the  direction 
of  the  wind  on  the  18th  of  August,  1837,  he  will  find  that 
the  arrows  of  the  following  places  all  point  inwards,  to- 
wards a  space  where  the  West  Indian  and  the  Duke  of 
Manchester  were  laboring  in  the  centre  of  the  storm  at  that 
time.  The  Oglethorpe,  the  Ida,  the  Rawlins,  the  Cicero, 
the  Delaware,  the  Mary,  the  Westbrook.  the  Sophia,  and 
at  Wilmington.  He  will  moreover  observe  that  the  locali- 
ties are  all  round  the  centre,  several  hundred  miles  apart, 
as  favorably  situated  as  could  be  desired  for  ascertaining 
the  direction  of  the  wind  in  this  storm  at  a  particular  time. 

The  reader  will  find  but  two  arrows  which  do  not  point 
towards  this  central  space ;  the  Penelope,  which  seems  to 
indicate  a  rotation  of  the  wind  from  right  to  left ;  and  the 
Winchester,  which  seerns  to  indicate  a  rotation  from  left  to 
right.  These  anomalies  I  hope  to  explain  satisfactorily, 
and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  add  a  strong  link  to  the  chain 
of  argument  in  favor  of  an  inward  motion  of  the  air  towards 
the  centre  of  the  storm,  if  indeed  any  other  evidence,  than 
that  of  the  fact  itself,  is  necessary. 

Now  if  the  wind  did  blow  inwards  in  all  these  storms,  all 
the  phenomena  can  be  accounted  for,  from  the  single  fact 
which  I  have  demonstrated  from  experiment,  as  indicated 
in  a  publication  of  mine  in  the  Saturday  Courier  of  March 
18,  1837. 

For  as  the  air  must  have  moved  upwards  over  a  central 
space  of  undefined  magnitude  in  all  these  storms,  I  have 
demonstrated  by  experiment  that  the  cold  due  to  diminish- 
ed pressure,  would  condense  one  half  its  vapor  when  it 
reached  six  thousand  yards,  a  quantity  sufficient  in  ordi- 
nary states  of  the  dew  point  to  produce  three  inches  of  rain 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  207 

in  that  climate.  The  condensation  of  this  vapor,  as  I  have 
demonstrated  by  experiment,  would  give  out  into  the  air 
in  contact  with  the  condensing  vapor,  caloric  of  elasticity 
sufficient  to  expand  that  air  between  five  and  six  thousand 
cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot  of  water  generated,  after 
making  allowance  for  the  diminished  volume  due  to  the 
condensation  of  the  vapor  itself  into  water. 

This  will  cause  the  barometer  to  fall  more  than  two 
inches  in  the  centre  of  the  storm,  and  to  rise  all  round  on 
the  outside  of  the  storm,  especially  on  that  side  towards 
which  the  top  of  the  cloud  is  pressed  by  the  upper  current 
of  the  atmosphere  into  which  the  cloud  penetrates ;  and 
that  will  be  the  direction  in  which  the  storm  will  move 
along  the  surface  of  the  earth  ;  all  which  I  have  elsewhere 
shown. 

As  the  cloud  moves  along,  being  pushed  by  the  upper 
current,  the  air  under  the  cloud  will,  on  account  of  the 
specific  levity  of  the  cloud,  ascend,  and  thus  the  action  will 
be  continued.  Moreover,  I  have  demonstrated  from  ex- 
periment that  if  the  barometer  falls  two  inches  under  the 
base  of  one  of  these  clouds,  the  air  will  not  have  to  ascend 
so  high,  by  eight  hundred  yards,  before  it  begins,  by  the 
cold  of  diminished  pressure,  to  form  cloud;  and  this,  in 
many  cases,  will  bring  the  cloud  down  on  the  surface  of 
the  sea ;  or  in  other  words  the  vapor  of  the  air  in  the  out- 
side of  the  storm  will  begin  to  condense,  as  soon  as  it  comes 
under  the  base  of  the  cloud,  from  the  cold  produced  by 
diminished  pressure  there. 

154.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  all  these  storms, 
and  others  which  have  been  traced  in  the  West  Indies, 
travelled  towards  the  N.  W.  almost  at  right  angles  to  the 
direction  of  the  trade  wind  in  those  latitudes ;  but  very 
nearly,  if  not  exactly,  in  the  direction  of  an  upper  current 
of  the  air,  known  to  exist  there  towards  the  N.  W.  The 
direction  of  the  trade  wind  will  therefore  produce  an  oblique 


208  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

force,  which  will  cause  the  wind  to  set  in  at  the  beginning 
of  these  storms,  not  exactly  towards  the  centre  of  them,  but 
towards  a  point  west  of  that  centre,  and  if  this  single  cir- 
cumstance should  be  observed  without  attending  to  all  the 
phenomena,  it  would  undoubtedly  give  rise  to  a  suspicion, 
that  the  wind  in  these  storms  rotates  from  right  to  left. 
And  if  to  this  circumstance  be  added,  that  these  storms  are 
nearly  round  in  this  latitude,  and  that  the  air  at  some  mod- 
erate distance  around  them  is  nearly  calm,  the  investigator 
will  be  confirmed  in  his  first  impression,  and  perhaps  not 
even  think  it  worth  while  to  mark  on  his  chart,  by  arrows, 
the  course  of  the  wind  in  the  simultaneous  observations  at 
his  command.  And  if  to  all  this  is  added  his  belief,  that 
the  air  in  a  cloud  is  denser  and  heavier  than  surrounding 
air  at  the  same  elevation,  he  will  consider  that  it  amounts 
to  absolute  demonstration,  that  there  must  be  a  whirl,  as 
that  is  the  only  possible  means  of  causing  a  depression  of 
the  barometer  under  all  these  circumstances,  in  the  middle 
of  the  storm.  Again,  if  he  believes  that  the  cold  air  from 
above,  coming  down  in  the  centre  of  the  whirlwind,  which 
it  would  do,  mingles  with  the  warm  air  below,  and  thus 
produces  condensation  of  its  vapor,  he  thinks  he  has  got 
hold  of  a  fact,  which  enables  him  to  explain  many  phe- 
nomena connected  with  the  storm,  though  the  whirlwind 
itself  remain^  unexplained,  as  it  always  must.  But  if  he 
will  examine  this  subject  a  little  more  minutely,  he  will 
find,  that  if  air  should  descend  from  a  height  sufficiently 
great  to  double  its  density  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  its 
dew  point  will  be  raised  only  20°,  and  its  temperature  by 
increased  pressure  about  90°,  and  that  it  will  then  be  ex- 
tremely dry,  even  if  it  had  been  saturated  at  the  commence- 
ment of  its  descent.  In  fact,  it  would  then  be  able  to  con- 
tain about  eight  times  as  much  vapor  as  it  contained  before 
its  descent;  for  at  these  low  temperatures  every  increase  of 
temperature  of  20°  doubles  its  power  of  containing  vapor, 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S    STORMS.  209 

as  may  be  ascertained  by  looking  at  a  table  of  dew  points. 
(129).  In  fact  the  doctrine  of  mingling  air  in  the  atmosphere  to 
produce  cloud,  as  taught  by  Dr.  Button,  will  not  stand  the 
test  of  examination,  even  if  a  means  could  be  discovered  of 
producing  the  mixture.  For  it  must  be  done  either  by  cold 
air  corning  down,  or  warm  air  going  up;  now  if  cold  air 
comes  down,  it  becomes  intensely  dry,  and  if  warm  air  goes 
up,  it  will  condense  its  vapor  by  the  cold  of  diminished 
pressure,  and  more  so  the  less  it  mingles  with  the  upper  air. 
Nor  is  the  doctrine  that  cloud  is  heavier  than  surrounding 
air  at  the  same  height  tenable,  as  was  shown  before. 

The  question  then  resolves  itself  into  a  matter  of  fact ; 
and  a  question  of  great  moment  it  is  acknowledged  to  be  ; 
is  there  a  centripetal  or  a  centrifugal  motion  of  the  air  in 
these  storms?  If  the  former  is  true,  all  the  phenomena  are 
explained  ;  if  the  latter,  nothing  is  explained  ;  not  even  the 
whirling  motion  itself.  Let  the  careful  reader  decide. 

Storm  of  September  3J,  1821. 

155.  The  following  investigation  of  the  storm  of  1821,  was 
written  early  in  the  year  1838,  and  presented  to  the  joint 
committee  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  and  the 
Franklin  Institute  by  me,  in  my  official  capacity  as  meteor- 
ologist of  that  committee  ;  but  it  was  not  accepted.  I  now 
publish  it  on  my  own  responsibility  ;  and  as  this  storm  has 
been  copied  by  Col.  Reid  into  his  book,  it  may  now  be  con- 
sidered as  a  part  of  the  examination  of  his  law  of  storms, 
though  it  was  written  before  his  book,  was  published.  This 
much  it  was  necessary  to  say  in  explanation  of  the  pecu- 
liar phraseology  of  what  follows,  since  it  is  published  verba- 
tim as  it  was  read  to  the  committee. 

PHILADELPHIA,  January  10th,  1838. 

GENTLEMEN:  —  As  the  meteorological  instruments  (118)  or- 
dered by  the  Committee  have  not  all  been  made,  and  distribu- 

27 


210  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

ted  to  the  several  counties  of  the  state,  and  as  recent  materials 
have  consequently  not  yet  been  furnished  to  your  meteorolo- 
gist for  a  report,  I  have  thought  it  would  be  interesting  and 
useful  to  the  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged,  to  inves- 
tigate the  phenomena  connected  with  the  GREAT  STORM  which 
visited  on  recast  Sept.  3d,  1821. 

1  have  chosen  this  storm  in  preference  to  others,  because 
materials  for  its  investigation  are  more  abundant,  and  also 
because  Mr.  Redfield  thinks  "  there  is  but  one  satisfactory 
explanation  of  the  phenomena.  "  The  storm  was  exhibited 
in  the  form  of  a  great  whirlwind." 

Now  it  is  of  immense  importance  to  the  mariner  that  he 
should  have  correct  views  on  this  point  —  and  I  propose  to 
demonstrate  that  this  storm  at  least  was  not  exhibited  in  the 
form  of  a  whirlwind,  but  was  like  the  twelve  storms  which 
have  been  investigated  by  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  Ameri- 
can Philosophical  Society  and  the  Franklin  Institute  ;  that 
is,  the  wind  blew  inwards  at  its  borders. 

T/his  conclusion  is  rendered  certain  by  the  following  facts, 
which  are  deductions  from  the  particulars  given  below. 

1st.  The  storm  set  in  every  where  on  the  extreme  south 
east  border  from  the  south  east,  and  not  from  the  south  west, 
and  changed  round  to  the  S.  S.  W.,  or  S.  And  on  the  ex- 
treme N.  W.  border  it  set  in  from  N.  N.  E.,  and  blew  hard- 
est from  the  N.  and  N.  W.  Now,  on  the  extreme  S.  E. 
border  it  could  not  blow  from  the  S.  E.-at  all,  on  the  suppo- 
sition that  it  was  a  whirlwind ;  nor  on  the  N.  W.  side,  could 
it  blow  at  all  from  the  N.  W.  Both  facts,  however,  are  not 
only  consistent  with  a  centripetal  motion  of  the  air,  but  ab- 
solutely prove  it. 

2d.  Wherever  the  wind  set  in  from  the  E.,  it  always 
changed  round  by  the  S.,  which  is  consistent  with  the  cen- 
petal,  and  inconsistent  with  the  centrifugal,  theory. 

3d.  There  never  was  a  lull  mentioned,  only  where  the 
wind  set  in  from  the  N.  E.,  which  has  the  same  bear- 


EXAMINATION  OF   REID'S   STORMS.  211 

ing  as  before,  for  the  centre  of  tlie  storm  only  can  have  a 
lull. 

4th.  Where  the  wind  set  in  from  the  S.  E.;  there  is  no  lull 
mentioned  previous  to  a  change  of  wind,  and  in  no  instance 
could  I  find  that  it  changed  round  to  N.  W.  Two  instances 
are  given  by  Mr.  Redfield,  one  at  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  which 
I  find  is  incorrectly  reported,  and  instead  of  changing  round 
to  N.  W.,  it  should  read  to  S.  W.  —  the  other  at  sea,  forty 
miles  N.  of  Cape  Henry ;  this  I  could  not  find,  and  I  suspect 
there  is  something  wrong  in  it,  for  forty  miles  N.  of  Cape 
Henry  is  not  at  sea,  hut  in  the  eastern  shore  of  Virginia. 
At  other  places  in  a  right  line  with  this,  it  set  in  from  the 
N.  E.,  e.  g.  at  Cape  May  and  Norfolk. 

5th.  Along  the  seaboard,  where  the  wind  had  been  S.  and 
S.  E.  all  day,  at  the  approach  of  the  storm,  it  backed  round 
towards  the  E.  and  E.  N.  E. ;  and  inland,  where  the  wind 
had  been  N.  W.,  it  backed  round  towards  the  N.  and  N.  E. 
on  the  approach  of  the  storm. 

6th.  Wherever  the  wind  set  in  from  the  N.  E.,  it  ought  not 
to  have  changed  at  all,  according  to  the  centrifugal  theory, 
whereas  it  did  actually  always  change  round  by  the  N.  to 
N.  W.  or  W.,  or  by  the  S.  to  S.  W.,  as  it  should  do  by  the 
centripetal  theory. 

7th.  According  to  the  centrifugal  theory,  the  wind  never 
could  change  round  on  the  extreme  N.  W.  boundary  from 
the  N.  N.  E.  to  the  N.  W.,  as  it  did,  according  to  the  centri- 
petal theory. 

8th.  On  the  extreme  S.  E.  boundary  it  could  not  blow  at 
all  from  the  S.  E.,  according  to  the  centrifugal  theory  :  but  it 
did,  according  to  the  centripetal  theory,  blow  in  that  direc- 
tion in  many  places  on  that  border,  for  six  or  eight  hours 
during  the  whole  strength  of  the  gale. 

9th.  On  the  extreme  N.  W.  border,  according  to  the  cen- 
trifugal theory,  it  could  not  blow  the  hardest  from  the  N.  W., 
nor  on  the  extreme  S.  E.  border  could  it  blow  the  hardest 


212  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

from  the  S.  E.,  as  it  did,  in  exact  conformity  with  the  centri- 
petal theory. 

10th.  At  Cape  May  it  changed  round  from  N.  E.  by  E., 
and  at  Cape  Henlopen  it  changed  round  from  N.  E.  by  N., 
in  conformity  with  the  centripetal,  and  entirely  contradictory 
to  the  centrifugal  theory. 

llth.  Both  in  Norfolk  and  New  York,  the  wind  set  in  from 
near  the  N.  E.,  and  at  the  termination  blew  from  the  S.  W., 
which  is  the  experimentum  crucis  in  favor  of  the  centripe- 
tal theory,  and  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  other.  In  like 
manner  at  Ocracock,  it  set  in  E.  S.  E.  and  terminated  S.  S.  W., 
and  out  at  sea,  in  the  extreme  eastern  borders  of  the  storm, 
the  wind  blew  for  eight  or  ten  hours  from  S.  E.  and  S.  by  E., 
with  but  little  change,  as  it  ought  to  do,  if  the  wind  does 
actually  blow  towards  the  centre  of  the  storm. 

12th.  At  the  time  the  wind  changed  round  to  S.  S.  W. 
at  Ocracock,  it  was  blowing  at  Norfolk  a  violent  gale  N.  E., 
nearly  towards  Ocracock.  Now  as  these  places  are  130 
miles  apart,  and  nearly  on  opposite  sides  of  the  storm  at 
that  moment,  it  is  utterly  impossible,  according  to  the  whirl- 
wind theory,  that  the  wind  at  Ocracock  should  be  blowing 
towards  Norfolk,  and  at  the  same  time,  the  wind  at  Norfolk 
be  blowing  towards  Ocracock.  And  this  fact  is  entirely  con- 
sistent with  the  centripetal  theory. 

The  wind  also  changed  round  at  Norfolk,  S.  W.,  before  it 
set  in  from  the  N.  E.  at  New  York.  Also  two  ships  at  sea, 
opposite  the  Jersey  coast,  had  the  wind  blowing  a  gale  from 
E.  S.  E.  to  S.  S.  E.  At  the  same  time,  the  wind  was  violent 
at  Philadelphia  and  Reedy  Island  from  N.  N.  E.  to  ]N[.  W. 
Now  these  places  were  nearly  in  opposite  sides  of  the  storm ; 
the  wind  was  therefore  centripetal  as  it  blew  from  each  to- 
wards the  other.  Also,  while  the  storm  was  passing  over 
Connecticut,  the  wind  blew  constantly,  in  the  S.  E.  corner, 
from  the  S.  E.,  while  at  the  same  time,  in  the  N.  W.  corner 
of  the  state,  the  wind  was  blowing  a  furious  gale  from  the 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  213 

N.  W. ;  and  Mr.  Redfield  himself  testifies  that  the  "  trees  and 
corn  hi  this  corner  of  the  state  were  uniformly  prostrated 
towards  the  S.  E.,  while  even  as  far  inland  as  Middletown, 
they  were  uniformly  prostrated  towards  the  N.  W." 

11  It  appears,"  says  Mr.  Redfield,  "  that  in  the  central  part 
of  the  state  of  Connecticut,  the  mass  of  the  atmosphere 
upon  the  earth's  surface  was  moving  for  several  hours,  ap- 
parently towards  the  N.  W.,  with  a  probable  velocity  of  75 
to  100  miles  per  hour,  while  in  the  northern  parts  of  Litch- 
field  county,  [that  is,  in  the  N.  W.  parts  of  the  state,]  at  a 
distance  of  say  40  miles,  the  wind,  at  about  the  same  period, 
was  blowing  with  nearly  equal  violence  towards  the  S.  or 
S.  E." 

Now,  as  the. wind  at  New  York  changed  round  to  "  S.  W., 
and  blew  away  the  clouds  with  astonishing  quickness," 
about  the  time  that  these  currents  of  air  were  rushing  towards 
each  other,  from  the  S.  E.  and  N.  W.  of  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut, we  have  three  points,  S.  E.  and  S.  W.  and  N.  W. 
in  the  borders  of  the  storm,  from  which  the  wind  blew  to- 
wards the  centre.  This  fact  alone  would  establish  the  truth 
of  the  centripetal  theory,  at  least  in  this  storm. 

We  have  no  account  how  the  wind  blew  to  the  N.  E.  of 
the  point  in  Connecticut,  towards  which  these  three  currents 
blew,  but  as  the  wind  set  in  from  the  N.  E.  in  front  of  the 
storm  wherever  we  have  any  account,  it  is  highly  probable 
that  here  too  the  wind  was  blowing  from  the  N.  E.  at  the 
same  time. 

We  have,  then,  the  most  decisive  evidence  that  the  wind, 
during  the  whole  progress  of  this  storm  along  our  coast,  blew 
inwards,  at  its  borders,  towards  its  central  parts. 

I  do  not  say  that  the  wind  blew  to  one  central  point  from 
every  part  of  the  circumference  —  this  is  hardly  to  be  ex- 
pected, even  if  the  storm  was  perfectly  circular,  for  reasons 
too  obvious  to  require  explanation. 


214  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

But  it  seems  almost  certain  that  the  diameter  of  the  storm 
was  much  longer  from  S.  W.  to  N.  E.  than  from  S.  E.  to 
N.  W.  The  wind  was  only  beginning  to  abate  at  noon,  to 
a  ship  75  miles  S.  by  E.  from  Cape  Hatteras,  and  this  was 
the  time  the  storm  was  commencing  at  Reedy  Island,  not 
far  below  Philadelphia.  The  diameter  of  the  storm,  there- 
fore, in  this  direction,  was  more  than  300  miles,  whilst  its 
diameter  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E.  could  hardly  have  been  half 
this  quantity,  for  the  storm  was  not  felt  at  Wilmington,  N.  C. 
nor  at  Baltimore.  And  two  ships  off  our  coast,  one  from 
Charleston  bound  to  the  Chesapeake,  and  one  from  Boston 
to  Norfolk,  in  latitude  40°  19',  did  not  experience  the  gale. 
And  when  the  storm  reached  Connecticut,  it  certainly 
was  not  more  than  about  100  miles  broad  in  this  direction, 
for  at  Providence  it  was  not  of  a  violent  character,  and  about 
fifty  miles  N.  W.  of  that  city,  the  centre  of  the  storm  passed, 
so  that  here  its  S.  E.  semi-diameter  was  only  about  fifty 
miles.  Between  the  Delaware  Capes,  also,  the  centre  of 
the  storrn  passed;  for  the  wind  changed  round  by  E.  at 
Cape  May,  and  by  N.  at  Cape  Henlopen  — and  as  the  storm 
did  not  reach  Baltimore,  its  N.  W.  semi-diameter  was  not 
more  than  fifty  miles. 

The  shape  of  the  storm,  then,  not  being  round,  as  Mr. 
Redfield  believed,  is  unfavorable  to  the  whirlwind  theory, 
and  will  satisfactorily  explain  the  circumstance  that  the  wind 
did  not  blow  exactly  at  times  towards-  one  central  point  — 
there  was  no  such  point,  the  centre  was  a  line  of  considera- 
ble length. 

156.  The  hypothesis  of  a  whirlwind  in  this  storm  is  there- 
fore not  true  in  fact;  and  if  it  was  true,  it  is  totally  incapa- 
ble of  explaining  any  of  the  phenomena. 

It  does  not  explain  the  cause  of  the  rain  and  hail.  For, 
if  there  was  a  whirlwind  of  such  violence  as  to  make  the 
wind  in  the  borders  of  the  storm  move  with  a  velocity  of 
75  or  100  miles  an  hour  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  air 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  215 

must  have  come  downwards  in  the  centre  with  very  great 
velocity,  a  velocity  calculated  in  article  88,  unless  the 
whirling  motion  extended  to  so  great  a  height  that  the  air 
at  the  surface  of  the  atmosphere  could  not  get  in. 

If  indeed  the  rotary  velocity  was  much  greater  in  the 
middle  region  of  the  air  than  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  or 
the  upper  regions,  then  the  air  would  rush  upwards  below, 
and  downwards  above,  towards  the  middle  region,  and  the 
cloud  there  formed,  if  one  should  be  formed,  would  be  seen 
whirling  round  with  great  velocity  and  spreading  outwards 
with  proportionate  rapidity.  In  this  way,  large  quantities 
of  the  upper  part  and  lower  part  would  be  mingled  together 
—  and  it  seems  to  be  generally,  though  erroneously,  believed, 
that  the  upper  part,  being  much  colder  than  the  lower,  when 
they  meet  and  mingle,  condensation  of  vapor  would  be  the 
result.  But  as  it  is  known  from  experiment,  that  if  the  air, 
at  the  temperature  of  32°  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  should 
rise  in  the  atmosphere  to  where  the  air  would  be  expanded 
into  double  the  volume,  it  would  be  colder  by  about  90°, 
and  if  the  air  should  sink  from  the  surface  of  the  atmos- 
phere to  where  the  barometer  stands  15  inches,  it  would  rise 
in  temperature  more  than  90°,  it  follows  that  when  these  two 
masses  of  air  met,  the  upper  mass  would  be  the  warmest, 
and  its  capacity  for  vapor  being  thus  very  much  increased, 
its  tendency,  on  mingling  with  the  lower  air.  would  be  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  cloud,  and  if  a  cloud  was  formed 
at  all,  it  would  be  by  the  cold  of  the  lower  portion. 

But  besides  the  impossibility  of  finding  any  cause  for  this 
whirlwind  in  mid-air,  it  is  contradicted  by  the  whole  ap- 
pearance of  the  cloud  connected  with  a  tempest,  whenever 
an  observer  is  so  situated  as  to  see  the  whole  cloud.  For 
the  circumference  of  the  cloud  always  appears  almost  mo- 
tionless, while  the  tempest  is  raging  below  with  the  greatest 
fury.  And  the  upper  part  of  the  cloud,  instead  of  rolling 


216  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

inwards,  as  it  would  do  if  there  was  a  motion  in  the  upper 
air  downwards,  seems  to  spread  itself  outwards,  especially 
towards  the  N.  E.,  something  in  the  form  of  a  mushroom, 
and  finally  into  thin  cirrus  at  the  end  of  the  rain. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  air  did  really  move  inwards  at 
the  circumference  of  the  storm,  all  the  phenomena  attending 
it  may  easily  be  explained  on  well  known  philosophical 
principles. 

It  could  not  move  inwards  at  the  circumference  below, 
without  moving  upwards  in  the  middle;  it  could  not  move 
upwards  in  the  middle,  without  becoming  colder,  some- 
thing more  than  1°  for  every  hundred  yards  of  elevation, 
until  it  reached  the  point  where  condensation  of  the  vapor 
would  commence ;  above  which  it  would  cool  only  about 
half  that  quantity,  the  other  half  being  made  up  by  the 
latent  caloric  given  out  by  the  condensing  vapor  —  the 
latent  caloric  cannot  be  given  out  without  expanding  the 
air  in  contact  with  it  about  7000  cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot 
of  water  generated,  and  thus  producing  a  highly  diminished 
specific  gravity  of  the  air  in  a  rapidly  forming  cloud.  This 
diminished  specific  gravity  will  cause  the  barometer  to  fall 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth  below,  and  the  air  will  run  in- 
wards and  upwards  with  a  velocity  which,  the  fall  of  the 
barometer  being  given,  may  be  calculated  where  the  storm 
is  very  narrow,  as  in  spouts,  on  the  principle  of  spouting 
fluids.  (118,  note.) 

This  upward  velocity,  where  the  barometer  falls  one  inch,, 
is  about  240  feet  a  second,  and  is  quite  sufficient  to  cause  a 
condensation  of  vapor  great  enough  to  produce  those  cata- 
racts of  rain  which  sometimes  fall  in  a  short  time  over  a  very 
limited  extent  (section  8)  ;  and  also  to  carry  up  large  drops 
of  rain  above  the  region  of  perpetual  congelation,  and  throw 
them  off  at  the  side  of  the  ascending  column,  frozen  into  hail, 
sometimes  12  inches  deep  in  12  minutes.  Even  the  shape 
of  the  tornado  cloud,  or  water  spout,  is  explained  by  the 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  217 

sinking  of  the  barometer  under  the  cloud  ;  for  the  expansion 
of  the  air  under  the  cloud  may  be  so  great  that  the  cold  pro- 
duced by  that  expansion  may  cause  condensation  of  the 
vapor  in  the  air  below  the  cloud  down  to  the  very  ground. 
I  might  go  on  to  mention  every  phenomena  connected  with 
storms,  and  show  that  they  are  all  explained  by  the  evolu- 
tion of  caloric  in  condensation  of  vapor ;  but  this  is  not  my 
present  object. 

157.  After  making  one  or  two  other  remarks,  I  shall  pro- 
ceed to  give  the  particulars  from  which  all  these  generaliza- 
tions have  been  deduced.  Mr.  Redfield  says,  Dr.  Mitchell 
has  recorded,  as  the  result  of  the  observation  of  laboring 
people  in  New  York,  that  when  a  haze  or  cirrus,  which, 
appearing  at  sunset,  indicates  the  approach  of  a  storrn,  is 
seen  over  Staten  Island  at  S.  W.,  or  more  southerly,  the 
storm  of  the  succeeding  day  will  blow  from  the  north  east ; 
but  if  it  appears  over  the  Jersey  shore  of  the  Hudson,  from 
W.  S.  W.  to  N.  W.,  then  the  storm  is  expected  to  blow  from 
the  S.  E.  From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  wind  blows 
towards  the  cloud  of  an  approaching  storm. 

What  is  the  shape  of  storms  generally  ?  or  do  they  greatly 
differ  in  shape  ? 

Dr.  Thomas,  of  Richmond,  N.  C.,  told  me  that  he  has 
frequently  seen  storms  of  great  length  from  N.  E.  to  S.  W., 
and  very  narrow  from  S.  E.  to  N.  W.,  make  their  appearance 
to  the  N.  W.  of  where  he  lived,  and  approach  him,  coming 
up,  side  foremost,  against  a  S.  E.  wind,  pass  over  in  half  an 
hour,  with  the  wind  suddenly  changing  round  to  N.  W.  If 
this  should  be  found  to  be  the  shape  of  those  storms  at  sea, 
which  Mr.  Redfield  says  so  often  set  in  from  S.  E.  and 
change  round  to  N.  W.,  it  would  be  in  harmony  with  the 
centripetal  theory.  But  I  forbear  to  hypothesise  —  the  day 
is  not  far  distant  when  the  public  will  see  the  importance  of 
having  facts  on  this  subject  ascertained  by  a  system  of  wide 
spread  simultaneous  observations. 

23 


218  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Facts  collected  by  Mr.  Redfield,  taken  from  Sillimarfs  Jour- 
nal, vol.  XX. 

158.  u  The  earliest  supposed  trace  of  this  hurricane 
which  has  been  obtained,  is  from  off  Turk's  Island,  in  the 
West  Indies,  where  it  appeared  on  the  1st  of  September, 
two  days  previous  to  its  reaching  our  coast.  It  was  felt 
there  severely,  but  at  what  hour  in  the  day  we  are  not  in- 
formed. 

The  next  account  we  have  is  from  lat.  23°  43',  where  the 
storm  was  severe,  September  1st,  from  S.  E.  to  S.  W. 
Whether  these  two  accounts  are  considered  as  identifying 
the  storm,  or  otherwise,  will  not,  at  this  time,  be  deemed 
material. 

Our  next  report  is  from  lat.  32°  30',  Ion.  77°  west  from 
Greenwich,  on  the  night  of  September  2d ;  a  hurricane  for 
three  hours. 

At  3,  A.  M.,  on  the  3d  of  September,  a  severe  gale  was 
experienced  thirty  miles  outside  of  the  American  coast,  off 
Wilmington,  N.  C. 

At  Wilmington  there  was  no  gale. 

At  Ocracock  bar,  N.  C.,  at  day  light  on  the  morning  of 
the  3d,  a  severe  gale  from  E.  S.  E. 

At  Edenton,  N.  C.,  the  gale  was  at  N.  E. 

Off  Roanoke,  on  the  morning  of  the  3d,  a  dreadful  gale 
at  E.,  then  S.  W.  and  N.  W. 

A  vessel  from  Charleston,  S.  C.,  two  days  previous  to  ar- 
riving in  the  Chesapeake,  experienced  the  gale  at  4,  A.  M., 
on  the  3d,  from  S.  E.  to  W.  S.  W. 

A  vessel  from  Bermuda  experienced  the  gale  from  the 
westward,  on  the  inner  edge  of  the  Gulf  stream. 

Another  vessel,  from  Charleston,  did  not  experience  the 
gale. 

In  lat.  37°  30',  on  the  inner  edge  of  the  Gulf  stream,  gale 
from  the  westward,  with  squalls. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  219 

On  James  River,  Va.,  the  gale  was  severe  from  N.  W. 

At  Norfolk,  Va.,  the  gale  raged,  on  the  3d,  for  five  hours, 
from  N.  N.  E.  to  N.  N.  W.,  and  terminated  at  the  latter 
point;  greatest  violence  from  10,  A.  M.,  to  1,  P.  M. 

At  sea,  forty  miles  N.  of  Cape  Henry,  severe  from  S.  E., 
changing  to  N.  W. 

Off  Chincoteague,  coast  of  Maryland,  on  the  3d,  gale 
from  S.  E. 

At  Snowhill,  Md.,  gale  commenced  at  11,  A.  M. 

In  lat.  38°  30',  Ion.  74°  30',  gale  S.  by  E. 

Gale  reported  as  slight  in  the  Gulf  stream. 

A  ship  from  Boston,  bound  to  Norfolk,  experienced  nothing 
of  the  gale.  On  the  3d,  was  in  lat.  40°  19' ;  weather  foggy, 
and  light  winds  from  S.  E.  i 

At  Morris  River,  Del.,  the  gale  was  from  E.  S.  E. 

No  hurricane  was  felt  at  Baltimore. 

At  Cape  Henlopen,  Del.,  the  gale,  or  hurricane,  com- 
menced at  half  past  11,  A.  M.,  from  E.  S.  E.,  shifted  in 
twenty  minutes  to  E.  N.  E.,  and  blew  very  heavy  for  nearly 
an  hour.  A  calm  of  half  an  hour  succeeded,  and  the  wind 
then  shifted  to  the  W.  N.  W.,  and  blew,  if  possible,  with 
still  greater  violence. 

At  Cape  May,  N.  J.,  commenced  at  N.  E.3  at  2,  P.  M., 
and  veered  to  S.  E.,  and  blew  with  violence.  After  abating 
fifteen  minutes,  it  again  blew  with  increased  violence  for  two 
hours,  and  then  abated.  The  sun  set  clear,  with  pleasant 
weather,  at  which  time  not  a  cloud  was  to  be  seen  in  the 
western  horizon. 

At  Bombay  Hook,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  river, 
the  gale  blew  from  N.  N.  E.  to  W.  N.  W. 

At  sea,  forty  miles  N.  E.  of  Cape  May,  the  gale  was  at 
S.  E.,  and  lasted  eight  hours. 

t  Philadelphia,  the  storm  commenced  at  1,  P.  M.,  on 
the  3d,  from  N,  to  E.,  and  raged  with  great  violence  from 
N.  E.  to  N.  W.,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon. 


220  PHILOSOPHY    OF    STORMS. 

At  Trenton,  N.  J.,  the  gale  commenced  at  3,  P.  M.,  with 
the  wind  from  N.  E. 

In  lat.  39°  20',  long.  73°  30',  the  gale  blew  from  E.  S.  E. 
to  S.  S.  E.,  and  continued  eight  hours. 

At  New  York,  the  gale  was  from  N.  E.  to  E.,  and 
commenced  blowing  with  violence  at  5,  P.  M.,  continued 
with  great  fury  for  three  hours,  and  then  changed  to  W. 
More  damage  was  sustained  in  two  hours  than  was  ever 
before  witnessed  in  the  city,  the  wind  increasing  during  the 
afternoon,  and  at  sunset  was  a  hurricane.  At  the  time  of 
low  water,  the  wharves  were  overflowed,  the  water  having 
risen  thirteen  feet  in  one  hour.  Previous  to  the  setting  in 
of  the  gale,  the  wind  was  from  S.  to  S.  E.,  but  changed  to 
the  N.  E.  at  the  commencement  of  the  storm,  and  blew 
with  great  fury  till  evening,  and  then  shifted  to  the  west- 
ward. 

At  the  quarantine,  Staten  Island,  the  wind  was  reported 
as  E,  S.  E.  Other  accounts  fix  it  at  E. 

At  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  the  gale  commenced  violently  at 
S.  E.,  at  6,  P.  M.,  and  continued  till  9,  P.  M.,  then  shifted 
to  N.  W.,  and  blew  till  nearly  11,  P.  M. 

At  New  London,  the  gale  was  felt  from  7,  P.  M.  to  12,  at 
night. 

On  the  coast  of  Rhode  Island,  between  Point  Judith  and 
Watch  Hill,  gale  from  the  S. 

At  Middletown,  Conn.,  violent  fronrS.  E.  for  five  hours. 

At  Hartford,  commenced  heavy  from  S.  E.  at  7,  P.  M. 

At  Springfield,  Mass.,  violent  from  9  till  12,  P.  M.,  then 
changed  to  the  westward. 

At  Northampton,  from  S.  E.  on  the  same  evening. 

At  Worcester,  Mass.,  in  the  night  between  3d  and  4th  of 
September. 

At  Boston,  the  gale  commenced  at  10,  P.  M.,  but  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  severe. 

At  the  time  the  storm  was  raging  with  its  greatest  fury  at 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  221 

New  York,  the  citizens  of  Boston  were  witnessing  the 
ascent  of  a  balloon,  and  the  aeronaut  met  with  little  or  no 
wind.  The  general  course  of  this  storm,  northward  of 
Cape  Hatteras,  appears  to  have  been  from  S.  S.  W.  to 
N.  N.  E.,  and  of  its  further  progress  we  are  uninformed. 

It  appears,  from  the  foregoing  statement  of  facts,  that  this 
storm,  previous  to  its  reaching  Long  Island,  extended  but  a 
moderate  distance  inland,  and  that  its  influence  seaward 
from  the  east,  was  almost  equally  limited  ;  that  between 
these  boundaries  it  maintained  a  regular  progress  along  the 
coast  from  a  great  distance  towards  the  south,  and  proba- 
bly even  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  \Yest  India  Islands ; 
that  this  progress,  though  slower  in  the  lower  latitudes, 
was,  after  reaching  the  American  coast,  at  a  rate  not  greatly 
differing  from  thirty  geographical,  or  nautical,  miles  per 
hour,  which  is  presumed  to  have  been  nearly  the  velocity 
of  the  direct  southerly  current  prevailing  in  the  atmosphere 
at  that  time,  at  a  medium  height  from  the  surface  at  this 
rate  of  progression,  appears  to  have  governed  the  duration 
and  termination  of  the  storm  at  each  place  over  which  it 
passed  —  that  on  the  western  margin,  or  verge,  of  the  storm, 
or  at  those  places  most  distant  from  the  sea,  the  wind  was 
north  easterly  or  northerly,  while  on  the  opposite  verge,  at 
sea,  the  wind  was  southerly  and  westerly ;  —  that  along  the 
central  portion  of  the  tract,  the  storm  was  violent  from  the 
south  eastern  quarter,  changing-  suddenly  to  an  opposite  di- 
rection ; l —  and  that  there  was  previously  and  subsequently 
no  prevalence  of  an  easterly  wind,  nor  was  there  any  other 
apparent  cause  for  a  direct  movement  of  the  atmosphere 
from  that  quarter;  all  the  existing  tendencies  being  in 
another  direction.  The  centre  of  the  storm,  or  hurricane, 

1  It  is  remarkable  that  not  one  instance  is  to  be  found  in  this  storm  in  which 
the  wind  changed  suddenly  round  to  N.  W.,  where  it  set  in  from  S.  E.  (See 
p.  211,4th.) 


222  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

appears  to  have  been  generally  outside  the  coast,  till,  reach- 
ing Long  Island,  it  crossed  the  same,  and  entered  upon  the 
State  of  Connecticut.  It  seems  also  to  have  passed  west- 
ward of  New  Haven,  and  to  have  entered  the  valley  of 
Connecticut  river  near  Middletown,  and  after  partially  fol- 
lowing that  valley  for  some  distance,  and  crossing  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  the  storm  must  have  disappeared  towards 
the  eastern  coast,  and  its  further  progress  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  reported.  The  general  analogy  or  correspond- 
ence of  the  forgoing  facts  to  the  known  phenomena  of  whirl- 
winds and  tornadoes  will,  it  is  believed,  be  sufficiently  evi- 
dent, at  least  so  far  as  the  difference  in  the  magnitude  and 
other  circumstances  of  these  rotative  masses  will  permit  of 
the  resemblance." 

Facts  collected  by  Mr.  Espy,  taken  from  the  newspapers  of 

the  time. 

159.  Aurora,  Sept.  10, 1821.— Norfolk,  Sept.  4^.— Among 
the  rest  of  our  misfortunes,  we  are  grieved  to  state  that  our 
town  was  visited  on  yesterday  by  a  storm  or  tornado,  &c. 
The  morning  was  dark  and  gloomy;  at  6  o'clock  rain  be- 
gan to  fall  in  torrents.  At  10  it  abated  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  came  again  with  increased  violence,  and  the  wind 
commenced  blowing  a  heavy  gale  from  the  N.  E.,  and  con- 
tinued to  increase  to  an  alarming  height:.  From  111  to  12| 
o'clock,  the  fury  was  such  as  to  threaten  a  general  demoli- 
tion, &c.  About  12,  the  wind  shifted  to  N.  W.,  and  con- 
tinued its  fury  until  half  an  hour  after,  and  the  storm  began 
to  subside.  At  4  o'clock,  the  wind  changed  to  S.  W.,  and 
the  weather  became  calm. 

New  York,  Sept.  4^.  — From  Saturday  (the  1st)  till  4 
o'clock,  we  were  visited  with  repeated  showers,  accom- 
panied with  thunder  and  lightning.  The  wind  veered  and 
shifted  to  almost  every  point. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  223 

National  Intelligencer,  Sept.  8th.  —  At  New  Haven,  the 
gale  commenced  6,  P.  M.,  and  from  8  to  10  increased  to  a 
violent  tornado. 

National  Intelligencer,  Sept.  IQth. — Steamboat  Norfolk 
left  Baltimore  on  the  3d,  at  9|,  A.  M.,  wind  at  the  time 
light  N.  W.,  with  rain.  At  2,  P.  M.,  off  Poplar  Island, 
about  half  way  from  Baltimore  to  the  mouth  of  the  Poto- 
mac, commenced  a  most  tremendous  gale  from  N.,  with 
heavy  rain,  which  continued  to  increase  in  violence  till  4, 
when  it  moderated,  and  at  12  at  night,  off  the  mouth  of  the 
Potomac,  took  in  tow  the  ship  Repeater,  which  had  left 
Annapolis  at  3,  A.  M.,  and  at  2,  P.  M.,  near  Point  Look 
Out,  was  obliged  to  cut  away  all  her  rigging,  the  wind 
blowing  a  heavy  gale  from  N.  E. 

National  Intelligencer,  Sept.  12th.  —  Captain  Crabtree, 
twenty-five  leagues  to  the  S.  by  E.  of  Cape  Hatteras,  says, 
that  on  the  night  of  the  2d,  a  violent  gale  came  on  to  blow 
from  E.  S.  E.,  and  began  to  abate  at  noon  of  the  3d.  The 
Franklin  Gazette,  Philadelphia,  says  the  wind  at  New  York 
had  been  S.  and  S.  E.  most  of  the  day,  but  between  4  and 
5  it  changed  to  N.  E.,  and  blew  until  near  7,  with  great 
violence.  About  that  hour  the  wind  abated,  and  soon  after 
shifted  to  W.  N.  W. 

Sept.  bth,  same  paper. —  Steamboat  Connecticut,  at  New 
Haven,  had  the  wind  first  from  E.,  but  at  10|  o'clock  it  got 
round  to  S.  Same  paper  of  Sept.  7,  at  New  Brunswick,  tre- 
mendous storm  from  N.  E.,  with  torrents  of  rain  in  P.  M. 

National  Gazette,  Sept.  8th.  —  Capt.  West,  of  the  ship 
Tuscarora,  got  under  weigh  from  New  Castle  at  7,  A.  M., 
wind  N.  E.  About  10,  came  on  to  blow  fresh,  with  very 
thick  weather  and  much  rain.  At  11,  came  to  anchor  in 
Bombay  Hook  Roads.  The  wind  and  rain  increased  to  a 
violent  gale.  About  3,  began  to  drift.  The  wind  com- 
menced N.  E.,  and  the  strongest  was  from  N.  At  6  it 
veered  to  N.  W.,  moderated  and  cleared  up. 


224  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Same  paper,  Sept.  Wth.  —  Schooner  Gen.  Green,  between 
Capes  Sable  and  Ann,  had  a  strong  breeze,  but  no  gale, 
though  every  vessel  in  Quarantine  Roads  (Boston)  dragged 
anchor. 

Freemen's  Journal,  Sept.  8th.  —  Schooner  Swan,  in  lat. 
39°  20',  (Evening  Post,  of  7th,  says  lat.  36°  20')  long.  73°  30', 
encountered  the  hurricane,  which  continued  for  eight  hours, 
E.  S.  E.  to  S.  S.  E.  Also,  sloop  Regulator,  in  lat.  38°  30', 
long.  74°  30',  experienced  a  tremendous  gale  from  S.  by  E., 
and  lay  to  ten  hours.  At  Huntingdon,  L.  I.,  at  7,  P.  M., 
we  were  visited  by  a  most  tremendous  gale  of  wind  from 
the  N.  E. 

Freeman's  Journal,  Sept.  11.  Ship  Repeater,  near  Point 
Look-Out,  had  wind  from  N.  E.  From  12  to  2  a  most  vio- 
lent gale,  (Delaware  Bay). 

Freeman7 s  Journal,  Sept.  11.  Schooner  Rising  States, 
two  days  from  Charleston  towards  New  York,  had  a  violent 
gale  which  lasted  six  hours,  from  S.  E.  to  W.  S.  W. 

New  York  Evening1  Post,  Sept.  4.  The  gale  at  Jersey 
City  was  from  N.  E.,  accompanied  with  hail  and  rain, 
which  fell  in  torrents. 

Sept.  5.  At  Quarantine,  the  commencement  of  the  gale 
was  E.  S.  E. 

Sept.  10.  Schooner  Polly  and  Sophia,  forty  miles  N.  E. 
of  the  Capes  of  the  Delaware,  experienced  a  most  tremen- 
dous gale  from  the  S.  E.,  which  lasted -eight  hours. 

American  Daily  Advertiser,  Sept.  6.  From  New  York 
of  Sept.  4.  About  4|,  P.  M.,  yesterday,  the  wind  came  out 
from  about  E.,  with  all  the  fury  of  a  hurricane,  and  contin- 
ued till  about  8|,  P.  M. 

Sept.  7.  From  a  Norfolk  paper  of  the  4th.  Yesterday, 
between  the  hours  of  10,  A.  M.  and  1,  P.  M.,  our  town  was 
visited  by  a  hurricane,  accompanied  by  torrents  of  rain, 
commencing  from  N.  E.  and  terminating  at  N.  N.  W. 

Also,  from  the  Bridgeport,  (Conn.)  Farmer.      After  two 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  225 

or  three  days  of  dull  cloudy  weather,  with  frequent  heavy 
showers,  we  were  on  Monday  evening  (3d)  visited  by  the 
most  dreadful  hurricane  which  has  been  experienced  for 
many  years.  The  wind  commenced  blowing  hard  from 
S.  E.  about  6,  P.  M.,  accompanied  with  rain,  and  continued 
to  increase  in  violence  till  about  9,  P.  M.,  when  the  tempest 
raged  with  a  degree  of  fury  the  most  awful  and  destructive. 
The  storm  continued  with  unabated  force  till  near  11, 
P.  M.,  when  the  wind  hauled  round  to  S.  W.,  and  grad- 
ually subsided. 

Also,  in  a  letter  from  New  Haven,  by  a  gentleman  who 
left  there  at  6,  P.  M.,  in  steamboat  Connecticut:  "As  we 
approached  the  light  house  at  the  harbor's  mouth,  the  wind, 
which  had  been  blowing  very  hard,  became  violent,  and  we 
anchored  in  the  Cove,  between  the  Fork  and  light  house. 
The  gale  kept  increasing,  and  our  vessel  dragged  her  an- 
chors, in  spite  of  a  great  scope  of  cable  and  the  assistance 
of  the  engine.  Suddenly  the  wind  shifted  to  S.  W.,  and 
blew  a  perfect  hurricane. 

Also,  from  New  York  American,  Sept.  3,  1821.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  day,  and  at  intervals  till  late  in  the  after- 
noon, heavy  showers,  with  steady  breezes  from  the  S.  E. 
From  5  to  6,  P.  M.,  the  wind  and  rain  increasing,  with 
every  indication  of  a  settled  storm.  From  6  to  about  7|, 
P.  M.,  the  wind  E.  S.  E.,  but  varying  to  E.  and  E.  N.  E.5 
accompanied  with  rain  ;  blew  with  extreme  violence.  From 
7|  to  8,  P.  M.,  the  wind  had  much  abated  ;  it  then  veered 
round  to  the  S.  W.,  and  the  clouds  were  swept  away  with 
astonishing  quickness.  Bar.  lowest  at  7.30  —  29.34,  hav- 
ing been  in  the  morning  at  Gh.  30.13  inches. 

Poulson,  Sept.  10.  Dennis's  Creek.  On  the  3d  inst.  the 
wind  came  on  to  blow,  about  2,  from  the  eastward,  and 
continued  to  increase  until  about  5,  P.  M.  At  about  5,  the 
wind  changed  to  the  westward,  still  blowing  very  heavy 
(near  Goshen  Creek  and  Maurice  River).  Poulson,  Sept.  5, 

29 


226  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

at  Philadelphia,  a  storm  of  rain  commenced  about  1,  P.  M,, 
on  the  3d,  accompanied  with  high  wind,  which  increased 
almost  into  a  tornado  in  the  afternoon.  The  wind  was 
generally  from  N.  to  N.  E.  during  its  greatest  fury,  but  va- 
ried occasionally  to  almost  every  point  of  the  compass.  .  .  . 
Much  damage  was  done  at  the  navy  yard  by  the  violence 
of  the  gale  during  its  rage  from  the  N.  E.  and  N.  W. 

Poulson,  Sept.  8.  Mr.  Guille  ascended  in  his  balloon  at 
4h.  45m.,  at  Boston,  and  sailed  towards  the  N.  W.  Sept. 
10,  on  Monday  night,  3d,  a  short  but  severe  gale  from  the 
S.  E.  did  considerable  damage  to  the  trees  and  fruit  in  that 
vicinity;  and  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  the  gale  commenced  at 
9,  P.  M.,  and  increased  till  midnight;  and  at  Middletown 
lasted  five  hours.  And  the  New  York  Evening  Post  of 
Sept.  7,  says  that  this  gale  at  Middletown  was  from  S.  E., 
commencing  about  9,  P.  M.,  and  at  Boston  at  10,  P.  M. 
And  the  same  paper  says  that  the  rains  were  very  great  at 
Baltimore  and  Annapolis. 

National  Gazette,  Sept.  6.  The  gale  of  3d  September 
was  almost  a  hurricane  at  Bombay  Hook  for  about  an  hour, 
from  N.  E.  to  N.  N.  W. 

Sept.  1,  at  Cape  May,  from  1,  P.  M.  till  half  past  4,  the 
wind  blew  a  violent  hurricane  S.  E.  Hugh's  large  house 
had  the  piazza,  blown  oif. 

Freeman's  Journal,  Sept.  11.  At  Annapolis,  at  4,  A.  M., 
wind  W.  N.  W.  arid  rainy.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Patuxent, 
at  11|,  gale  increasing  and  inclining  northward.  At  Point 
Look-Out,  still  inclining  to  N.E.,  and  at  2,  P.  M.,  very  vio- 
lent N.  E.  At  6,  P.  M.,  the  gale  had  abated. 

Same  paper,  Sept.  12.  About  five  miles  below  Reedy 
Island,  at  noon,  the  wind  hauled  to  N.  E.  from  the  S.  E., 
and  hauled  round  to  N.  N.  W.,  blowing  a  heavy  gale. 
(Delaware  Bay.) 

Same  paper,  Sept.  15.  Brig  Pariopea,  seventy-five  miles 
S.  by  E.  from  Cape  Hatteras.  It  came  on  to  blow  a  gale 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS. 


227 


from  E.  S.  E.  on  the  night  of  the  2d.  On  the  3d,  at  noon, 
the  gale  began  to  abate.  Also,  the  Atalanta,  off  Cape  Hat- 
teras,  experienced  a  severe  gale  from  S.  E.  At  Ocracock, 
at  daylight,  wind  E.  S.  E.,  blowing  a  gale ;  after  hauling 
round  to  S.  S.  W.,  ceased  between  10  and  11,  A.  M.,  both 
at  Ocracock  and  Portsmouth. 

NEW   HAVEN. 


Thermometer. 

Barometer. 

Rain. 

Wind. 

Date. 

Sun 

2 

10 

Sin 

2 

JO 

Sun 

2 

Weather. 

1821. 

rise. 

P.M 

PM 

rise. 

P.M. 

P.M. 

inches. 

rise. 

P.  M. 

Sept.  1 
2 

70 
70 

82 

78 

73 

71 

30.02 
.02 

30.03 
29.97 

30.02 
29.97 

.78 
.62 

S. 
S. 

S. 
S. 

Cloudy,  Broken  R.  Cloudy, 
do.     R.  Cloudy  R.     do. 

3 

70 

80 

70 

29.97 

.92 

.47 

.72 

S. 

S.  E. 

do.     R.      do.             do. 

4 

68 

73 

68 

.90 

.85 

.81 

S. 

Broken        do.            do. 

5 

62 

75 

62 

.73 

.74 

.76 

W. 

S.W. 

Clear.        Clear.        Clear. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  3d,  between  7  and  12,  P.  M.,  the 
most  violent  storm  of  wind  occurred  that  has  happened 
since  1815."  During  the  evening,  Mr.  Herrick  thinks  the 
wind  was  from  S.  E.  to  S. 

These  observations,  made  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
are  furnished  by  Charles  Rich,  Esq.,  of  that  place. 

NEW   BEDFORD. 
Extract  from  Mr.  Samuel  Rodman's  Journal. 


Thermometer. 

Barometer. 

Wind. 

Day. 

jj 

S 

1 

8 

S 

g 

- 

S 

eji 

c 

c 

ti 

c 

'5 

Weather. 

c 

cC 

c 

G* 

OH 

a 

0 

Ol 

£ 

0 

a 
tn 

cf 

o 

W 

2 

72 

77 

74 

73 

30.10 

30.  '10 

30.08 

30.06 

S.  W. 

S.   W. 

S.  W. 

3 

74 

79 

75 

74 

30.05 

30.04 

29.97 

29.86 

S.  E 

S. 

S.E. 

Very  severe 

4 

67 

70 

70 

70 

29.92 

29.90 

29.87 

29.85 

S. 

S. 

S. 

gale  at  night. 

I  will  now  add,  that  the  reader  will  perceive,  by  a  care- 
ful examination  of  these  facts,  that  all  the  generalizations 
given  above  are  fairly  deduced ;  and  that  they  all,  when 
combined,  form  a  most  satisfactory  demonstration  of  the 
theory  advocated  and  developed  in  the  preceding  papers. 
Moreover,  as  the  wind  on  the  S.  E.  side  of  the  storm  had 


228  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

been  blowing  all  day,  before  the  storm  came  on,  from  the 
S.  E.,  and  on  the  N.  W.  side  of  the  storm  from  the  N.  W., 
there  appears  no  reason  for  the  motion  of  the  storm  from 
the  S.  W.,  but  the  uppermost  current  of  the  atmosphere, 
which  is  known  to  be  almost  always  moving  in  this  direc- 
tion. 

Philadelphia,  March  13,  1839. 


Hurricane  of  the  middle  of  August,  1837. 

160.  St.  Augustine,  Aug.  19,  1837.  On  Tuesday,  the 
15th  August,  we  were  visited  by  a  third  gale  of  wind,  of 
equal  severity  with  the  two  which  preceded  it,  and  which 
continued  until  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  18th  August,  when 
it  ceased.  American  paper. 

A  severe  Gale  at  Turk's  Island  on  the  \5th  August.  From 
Lloyd's  List.  Narrative  of  Mr.  Wilkinson,  master  of  the 
Calypso,  in  the  storm  of  the  middle  of  August,  1837. 

"  On  the  15th  August,  noon,  the  Calypso  was,  by  obser- 
vation, in  lat.  26°  47'  N.,  and  Ion.  75°  5'  W. ;  the  wind  was 
from  the  eastward,  about  east  northeast;  she  had  royals 
and  foretopmast  studding  sails  set.  Shortly  after,  we  got  a 
heavy  swell  from  the  north  eastward,  and  the  wind  gradu- 
ally freshened  till  9  o'clock,  when  only  the  double  reefed 
topsails,  reefed  foresail  and  mizzen  could  be  carried.  Dur- 
ing the  night  the  wind  increased,  and  at  10  next  morning, 
the  wind  about  N.  E.,  the  lee  rail  under  water,  and  the 
masts  bending  like  canes ;  got  a  tarpaulin  on  the  main  rig- 
ging, and  took  the  maintopsail  in  ;  the  ship  laboring  much, 
obliged  main  and  bilge  pumps  to  be  kept  constantly  going. 
At  6,  P.  M.,  the  wind  northwest,  I  should  think  that  the  lat- 
itude would  be  about  27°,  and  longitude  77°. 

"  At  midnight,  the  wind  was  west,  when  a  sea  took  the 
quarter  boat  away.  At  day  dawn,  or  rather,  I  should  have 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  229 

said,  the  time  when  the  day  would  have  dawned,  the  wind 
was  south  west,  and  a  sea  stove  the  fore  scuttle  ;  all  attempts 
to  stop  this  leak  were  useless,  for  when  the  ship  pitched,  the 
scuttle  was  considerably  under  water.  The  wind,  from 
about  noon  of  the  16th,  till  about  10,  or  noon,  of  the  17th, 
blew  with  nearly  the  same  violence.  There  was  no  lull ; 
neither  did  it  fly, from  one  point  of  the  compass  to  the  other, 
but  backed  from  east  northeast  to  south  west,  and  then  died 
a\vay  gradually. 

"  On  Sunday,  the  20th,  while  beating  off  Rum  Key,  the 
wind  was  variable  and  squally.  On  Monday,  in  lat.  24°  40', 
Ion.  74°  45';  we  had  fine  steady  winds  from  the  eastward." 

The  Mary,  Sharp,  from  New  Orleans  to  Barbadoes,  was 
abandoned  on  the  5th  September,  lat.  32°,  Ion.  80.  having 
been  dismasted  and  thrown  on  her  beam  ends,  with  six  feet 
water  in  her  hold,  in  a  gale  on  the  16th  August,  in  lat.  27° 
30',  Ion.  73°  53'. 

"The  brig  Yankee,  on  the  16th  August,  in  lat.  24°  30', 
Ion.  70°  30',  experienced  a  severe  gale  of  wind  from  the 
N.  E.  to  S.  W.,  which  lasted  till  the  20th."  N.  Y.  General 
Advertiser. 

The  Rosebud,  Dick,  from  Havana  to  London,  was  cap- 
sized and  dismasted  on  the  18th  August,  in  lat.  34°  Ion.  74°. 

Wilmington  newspaper,  Aug.  25.  "On  the  afternoon  of 
Friday  the  18th,  the  wind  shifted  to  the  north  east,  and  rain 
began  to  pour  heavily.  Before  midnight  the  storm  increas- 
ed, threatening  ruin,  &c.  The  tide  rose  six  feet  higher 
than  usual." 

The  Westchester,  from  Havana,  experienced  a  heavy 
gale  from  the  north  east  on  the  18th,  arid  on  the  20th,  in  lat. 
32°,  Ion.  74°. 

The  Maria,  from  Honduras  to  London,  on  the  20th  Au- 
gust, in  lat.  33°,  Ion.  74°,  capsized. 

Log  of  Ship  Sophia.  On  afternoon  of  15th,  wind  E.  N.  E., 
steady  and  moderate,  with  a  heavy  lowering  ;  at  4,  P.  M., 


230  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

in  top  gallant  sails  and  gaff  topsail ;  at  midnight,  do. 
weather;  morning,  breeze  freshening;  at  noon,  strong 
breeze,  with  a  very  stormy  appearance,  the  swell  evidently 
increasing;  latitude  observed,  31°  37',  Ion.  per  chronometer, 
74°  54'  30",  barometer  at  fair. 

Afternoon  of  16th,  wind  N.  E.  by  E.,  steady;  the  sky 
loaded  to  the  eastward  with  heavy,  sluggish  clouds,  and 
apparently  no  distance  over  head.  At  3,  P.  M.,  down  royal 
yards ;  at  6,  breeze  freshening ;  at  midnight,  strong  gale, 
with  high  cross  sea,  the  mercury  much  agitated  and  inclin- 
ed to  fall.  At  6,  A.  M.,  of  the  17th,  set  the  foresail  again, 
at  noon  very  hazy  round  the  horizon,  with  the  appearance 
over  head  as  yesterday  ;  lat.  33°  3',  Ion.  75°  9' ;  barometer 
fallen  to  change. 

Afternoon,  wind  E.  N.  E.,  with  the  same  wild  appear- 
ance, and  every  indication  of  a  dangerous  change  of  weath- 
er ;  at  3,  P.  M.,  wore  ship  to  southward,  barometer  still 
falling,  wind  E.,  gale  increasing.  At  daylight  of  18th,  in 
fore  and  maintop  sails,  &c.  At  noon,  heavy  gale  of  wind 
E.  S.  E.,  the  sky  as  if  closing  around  us,  and  having  a 
most  dismal  appearance ;  barometer  from  stormy  to  change. 

Afternoon,  heavy  gale,  with  violent  squalls  and  rain, 
wind  S.  S.  E.  At  6,  P.  M.,  blowing  a  hurricane;  wind 
S.  S.  E.  Same  weather  continued  till  midnight  of  the  19th. 
On  the  morning  of  the  20th,  the  wind  backed  gradually  to 
the  northward,  with  no  abatement,  and  at  noon  the  wind 
was  N.  N.  W.,  but  not  the  least  abatement  —  no  observa- 
tion ;  barometer  as  yesterday.  At  1,  P.  M.,  of  20th,  wind 
at  N.  W.  At  6,  more  violent,  if  possible.  At  8,  inclined 
to  moderate,  and  the  barometer  to  rise.  At  midnight,  still 
dark  and  gloomy  —  mercury  rising  fast.  At  10,  A.  M.,  of 
21st,  a  fine  steady  breeze  from  the  westward.  At  noon, 
lat.  34°  38',  Ion.  74°  20',  having  made,  since  last  observa- 
tion, against  wind  and  sea,  95  miles  of  northing,  and  49  of 
longitude ;  barometer  at  fair. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  231 

Narrative  of  Mr.  Macqneen,  master  of  the  Ship  Rawlins, 
from  Jamaica  to  London. 

Latitude  —  Commencement  N.  30°  30'. 

Termination  30    40. 

Longitude  —  Commencement          W.  77    40. 

Termination  77    18. 

Wind  commenced  on  the  16th,  at  N.  E.  by  E.  blowing 
strong  from  that  quarter  about  twelve  hours,  then  suddenly 
to  N.,  continuing  with  unabated  vigor  till  midnight  of  the 
17th  ;  in  an  instant  a  perfect  calm  ensued  for  one  hour,  then, 
quick  as  thought,  the  hurricane  sprung  up  with  tremendous 
force  from  the  south  west,  not  again  shifting  from  that  point. 
No  swell  whatever  preceded  the  convulsion.  The  barome- 
ter gave  every  notice  of  the  coming  gale  for  many  hours 
previous.  Two  days  antecedent,  the  weather  was  beauti- 
fully serene,  but  oppressively  hot,  with  light  shifting  airs  ; 
the  barometer  at  that  time  standing  at  "set  fair;"  during 
the  gale  so  low  as  almost  to  be  invisible  in  the  tube  above 
the  frame  work  of  the  instrument.  The  force  subsided  at 
midnight,  August  18th.  the  sea  tremendous,  and  rising  in 
every  direction ;  from  the  force  of  the  wind  no  tops  to  the 
waves,  being  dispersed  in  one  sheet  of  white  foam ;  the  decks 
tenanted  by  many  sea  birds  in  an  exhausted  state,  seeking 
shelter  in  the  vessel ;  impossible  to  discern  any  thing,  even 
during  the  day,  at  fifty  yards  distance;  the  wind,  represent- 
ing numberless  voices,  elevated  to  the  shrillest  lone  of  scream- 
ing ;  but  few  flashes  of  lightning,  and  those  in  the  S.  W. 
On  the  19th,  wind  and  sea  much  abated.  A  dismal  appear- 
ance to  the  N.  W. 

Narrative  of  Mr.  Turner ',  master  of  the  ship  West  Indian, 
from  Jamaica  to  London.  — At  noon  of  the  14th,  lat.  28°  28', 
Ion.  79°  45',  barometer  30.1  inches.  At  5  P.  M.  the  weather 
put  on  an  unsettled  appearance,  and  a  strong  swell  began  to 
set  in  from  the  E.  N.  E.,  which  continued  to  increase,  as 


232  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

did  also  the  wind  from  the  N.  E. ;  the  next  morning  the  sky 
was  more  settled. 

At  noon  of  the  15th,  barometer  30.00,  lat.  31°  49',  Ion.  77°  59'. 
The  heat  of  the  water  eight  or  ten  degrees  warmer  than  the 
air,  which  became  equal  about  midnight.  Fresh  winds,  vari- 
able from  E.  N.  E.  to  N.  E.,  gradually  increasing  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  16th.  At  noon,  no  observation,  lat., by  account,  31° 
23',  Ion.  77°13' ;  bar.  30.00,  blowing  fresh,  wind  E.  N.  E. 

At  daylight  on  the  16th,  the  sky  had  put  on  a  very  threat- 
ening aspect ;  ship's  head  to  the  E.  S.  E.,  with  a  tremendous 
sea  from  that  direction  ;  wind  and  sea  continued  to  increase 
all  day,  with  rain ;  barometer  not  falling,  till  five,  P.  M., 
when  it  went  down  67//  in.  At  three  o'clock,  A.  M.  of  the 
17th,  the  hurricane  commenced,  and  about  noon  at  its  meri- 
dian, wind  E.  N.  E.  Ship  lying  to ;  lat,  by  account,  31°  8', 
Ion.  77°  56',  barometer  29°  I'.  The  wind  drawing  more  east- 
erly. At  six,  P.  M.,  wind  east  south  east,  and  inclining  to 
the  southward;  just  after  midnight  it  fell  nearly  calm.  At 
two,  A.  M.,  of  the  18th,  came  out  in  an  instant,  with  all  its 
former  violence,  from  the  S.  W. 

At  noon,  by  account,  lat.  31°  21',  Ion.  78°  6',  barometer 
28°  8';  hurricane  still  continuing  with  all  its  former  violence; 
at  midnight  it  moderated  a  little^*  wind  veering  to  the  west- 
ward all  the  time.  At  4,  A.  M.,  of  the  19th,  the  wind 
about  W. ;  got  the  ship  before  the  wind  under  close  reefed 
topsails,  and  scudded  before  the  gale.  A'tnoon  of  19th,  lat, 
by  account,  31°  42',  Ion.  77°  14',  barometer  29.30 ;  continued 
to  run  before  the  gale  all  these  24  hours,  the  wind  getting 
round  to  N.  W. 

At  noon  on  the  20th,  lat.,  by  observation,  33°  32',  Ion.  72° 
13'.  In  four  days  ship  has  been  set  N.  52°  E  130  miles. 
For  some  days  after  this,  we  had  very  unsettled  weather, 
with  a  great  deal  of  sea. 

Log  of  Brig  Mary.— On  16th,  in  lat.  31°  3',  Ion.  77°  50', 
thermometer,  in  shade,  82,  water  82°,  barometer  29.10,  having 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  233 

fallen,  from  the  15th,  six  tenths  of  an  inch.  Wind  E.  S.  E. 
At  noon  of  the  17th,  wind  E.  by  N.,  and  N.  E.  by  E.  Strong 
gales  and  heavy  squalls,  with  a  head  sea  from  N.  E.,  barom- 
eter 29.00.  Thermometer  82°. 

On  the  18th,  wind  E.  S.  E. ;  increasing  gales  ;  every  ap- 
pearance of  bad  weather;  bar.  falling  fast;  laboring  and 
straining ;  bar.  28°  70'.  Ther.  80.°  Water  82°. 

On  19th,  wind  S.  E.,  gale  increased  to  a  perfect  hurricane; 
barometer  28°  60'.  On  20th,  wind  E.  S.  E.,  rising  and  fall- 
ing very  fast,  and  unsettled  for  the  last  24  hours;  barometer 
28°  50° ;  thermometer,  in  shade,  74°  ;  water  78°.  On  21st, 
wind  from  S.  E.  to  N.  W. ;  barometer  28°  10';  a  terrific  ap- 
pearance ;  thermometer,  in  air,  70° ;  water  76° ;  under  bare 
poles  ;  nothing  can  withstand  the  wind  at  present ;  hurricane 
continuing  to  rage  more  and  more;  at  noon  gale  abating; 
barometer  rising  gradually ;  I  could  not  leave  the  deck  to 
note  it,  but  it  certainly  must  have  been  lower  ;  noon  28°  40' ; 
therm.  70 ;  water  76.  P.  M.,  lat.  36°  12',  Ion.  72°  IK  On 
22d,  windS.  W.  to  N.  W. ;  made  all  sail  that  circumstances 
would  permit;  heavy  rain,  thunder  and  lightning;  lat.  36° 
22'  Ion.  70°  6' ;  barom.  28.80. 

Extract  from  the  Log  of  the  Barque  Penelope,  J.  H. 
Grimes,  Master,  from  Jamaica  to  London.  —  August  18th, 
P.  M.  Strong  gales  E.  S.  E.  and  cloudy ;  at  four,  P.  M.,  ship 
laboring  very  much,  and  making  a  great  deal  of  water; 
midnight,  strong  gales ;  at  three,  A.  M,  of  19th,  wore  ship 
to  southward,  wind  E.  S.  E.  At  six,  A.  M.,  wore  ship  to 
northward ;  at  ten,  A.  M.  hard  gales.  At  noon,  lat,  by 
account,  34°  56',  Ion.  75°  27  hard  gales  N.  E.,  and  heavy  sea; 
at  four  P.  M.  gale  increasing ;  at  eight,  P.  M.  tremendous 
gales.  At  two,  A.  M.  of  20th,  set  main  trysail,  to  keep  ship 
to ;  in  five  minutes  it  blew  away  in  tatters  ;  wind  from.  E.  to 
S.  E.  At  eight,  A.  M.  wind  moderated  ;  at  ten,  more  mode- 
rate ;  set  close  reefed  fore  topsail ;  wind  E.  S.  E.  to  E. ;  noon, 

30 


234  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

dark  cloudy  weather;  wore  ship  to  southward;  noon,  lat., 
by  account,  35°  20',  Ion.  75°  20'. 

In  P.  M.  of  20th,  strong  gales  E.  S.  E.  At  four,  P.  M. 
wore  ship  to  N.  E. 

At  nine,  A.  M.,  (P.  M.  ?)  gale  increasing,  and  the  wind 
having  veered  to  N.  N.  W.,  came  to  a  resolution  of  running 
before  it,  till  the  gale  abated  ;  at  midnight  it  blew  a  perfect 
hurricane  from  N.  N.  W. ;  at  ten,  A.  M.  more  moderate.  At 
noon,  lat.  34°  30',  Ion.  72°  20' ;  at  six,  P.  M.  of  21st,  wind 
hauled  to  S.  W.  Made  up  my  mind  to  gain  a  port  to  the 
northward  of  Gape  Hatteras ;  latter  part  of  the  hurricane 
from  N.  N.  W. 

Extract  from  the  Log  of  the  Barque  West  Indian,  Simp- 
son, Master,  from  Jamaica  to  London.  —  Aug.  20,  at  noon, 
lat.  37°  Ion.  64°,  barometer  falling,  wind  variable  these 
twenty-four  hours,  from  S.  W.  to  E.  On  21st,  wind  variable 
from  S.  to  S.  E.,  increasing  gales  and  heavy  sea  from  N.  E.; 
at  noon  hard  gales  and  hazy,  barometer  down  below  rain ; 
lat.,  by  account,  38°  23',  Ion.  62°  40'.  At  six,  P.  M.,  hard 
gales,  wind  S.  At  ten,  blowing  quite  a  hurricane  ;  we  are 
now  involved  in  a  white  smoke  or  fog,  and  the  water  as 
white  as  a  sheet.  At  midnight  nearly  calm.  At  one,  A.  M., 
the  wind  came  away  from  about  W.,  and,  if  possible,  blew 
harder  than  ever.  At  six,  A.  M.,  it  is  blowing  a  hurricane, 
and  continued  till  two,  P.  M.,  when  it  moderated.  Lat.,  by 
account,  39°  9',  Ion.  61°  34'.  I  have  always  met  with  more 
hurricanes  and  tempestuous  weather  in  the  Gulf  stream 
than  I  have  found  either  to  the  northward  or  southward, 
and  I  cannot  account  for  it. 

Extract  from  the  Log  of  the  Ship  Ida,  Tilley,  Master. — 
Tuesday,  Aug.  15.  Light  breezes  E.  N.  E.,  and  cloudy 
weather ;  at  noon,  light  breezes  and  fine ;  lat.  27°  31',  Ion. 
79°  36',  ther.  85,  barom.  30.10.  At  midnight,  wind  E.  N.  E. 
At  noon  on  16th,  fresh  breezes  and  squally  weather;  lat. 
29°  54',  Ion.  79°  39',  ther.  80,  barom.  29.80.  P.  M.,  strong 
breezes ;  at  3,  wind  N.  N.  E.  At  midnight,  strong  breezes 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  235 

and  cloudy,  with  a  swell  from  the  eastward ;  barom.  29.20. 
On  17th,  fresh  gales,  increasing  till  noon,  when  it  blew  a 
hurricane ;  barom.  29,  wind  N.  E.  At  midnight,  blowing 
a  tremendous  hurricane,  with  rain  and  heavy  mountainous 
sea ;  barom.  28.50.  On  18th,  A.  M.,  blowing  a  most  tre- 
mendous hurricane,  wind  veering  from  N.  E.  toS.  W.  within 
the  last  twelve  hours.  At  midnight  of  18th,  found  we  had 
run  out  of  the  hurricane,  but  it  still  blew  a  heavy  gale.  On 
A.  M.,  of  19th,  wind  W.  with  strong  gales  and  high  sea. 
On  19th,  wind  W.  all  day,  and  also  on  the  20th.  On  21st, 
S.  W.  all  day,  with  strong  breezes  and  squally;  lat.  32°  7', 
Ion.  7°  30',  (76°  30').  On  22d,  wind  S.  W.,  light  breezes 
and  fine  weather ;  at  4,  A.  M.,  strong  breezes  and  squally 
weather  ;  made  a  signal  of  distress  to  the  Citizen,  and  aban- 
doned the  Ida  in  lat.  33°  14',  Ion.  75°  19'. 

Extract  from  the  Log  of  the  Ship  Westbrook,  J.  Freeman, 
Commander •,  from  Jamaica  to  London.  —  At  1,  P.  M.,  on 
15th,  light  baffling  winds;  at  7,  P.  M.,  increasing  wind  and 
looking  squally;  midnight,  wind  E.  S.  E.,  steady  and  clear; 
noon,  lat.  32°  20',  Ion.  76°  43';  wind  variable.  At  1,  P.  M., 
of  16th,  wind  N.  E. ;  fresh ;  clear;  at  8,  P.  M.,  very  heavy 
appearance  in  the  S.,  with  a  good  deal  of  lightning;  at  7, 
A.  M.,  of  the  17th,  strong  gales  and  a  very  heavy  sea  ;  noon, 
strong  gales  and  very  heavy  squalls,  with  rain  ;  lat.  32°  47', 
Ion.  76°  14'.  At  1,  P.  M.,  wind  E.  by  N.,  strong  gales  and 
hard  squalls  ;  midnight,  do. ;  noon,  of  18th,  blowing  strong 
and  no  appearance  of  change  ;  wind  E.  from  5,  A.  M.  At 
],  P.  M.,  wind  S.  E.;  strong  gales  and  a  heavy  sea.  At 
midnight,  came  on  to  blow  a  complete  hurricane ;  noon,  no 
appearance  of  change.  Wind  at  S.  E.,  until  11,  A.  M.,  of 
20th,  when  it  veered  to  N.  N.  W.  Throughout  this  twenty- 
four  hours,  a  terrific  hurricane  and  heavy  rain.  At  4,  A.  M., 
of  the  21st,  more  moderate,  and  at  noon,  lat.  34°  58',  Ion. 
73°  32';  windW.  N.  W. 

Extract  from  Captain  Herbert's  Journal  of  the  French 
Brig  Yolof,  from  Havana  to  Havre.  —  Winds  variable  and 


236  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

weak  from  the  12th  till  the  16th,  when  we  were  in  lat.  32^ 
14',  Ion.  76°  25'  west  of  Greenwich.  Then  the  wind  began 
to  blow  from  the  E.  N>E.,  increasing  in  force  till  the  17th, 
when  it  became  a  most  frightful  tempest,  continuing,  with- 
out intermission,  till  the  18th.  On  the  18th,  from  8,  A.  M., 
till  noon,  great  wind  and  rain.  At  8,  P.  M.,  calm.  Set  two 
sails ;  but  they  were  hardly  set  when  the  wind  burst  from 
the  W.  N.  W.  like  a  clap  of  thunder,  and  continued  fright- 
ful all  night  and  next  day.  On  20th,  at  10,  A.  M.,  began 
to  clear,  and  on  21st,  fine  weather,  with  slight  breeze  from 
S.  W.  On  20th,  in  lat.  32°  0'. 

Narrative  of  Mr.  Griffth,  Master  of  the  Ship  Duke  of 
Manchester.  —  At  noon,  on  the  15th,  light  airs,  and  close, 
oppressive  weather.  From  4  till  midnight,  wind  variable 
from  N.  E.  to  S.  by  E.  On  16th,  A.  M.,  light  variable 
winds,  and  a  cloudy,  confused  sky. 

At  8,  A.  M.,  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  N.,  and  hazy  weather ; 
a  swell  from  the  eastward.  Noon,  increasing  breeze  and 
cloudy ;  lat.  32°  39',  Ion.  77°  30'.  P.  M.,  increasing  breeze, 
wind  veering  from  N.  E.  by  E.  to  E.  by  N.  At  5,  fresh 
gale :  at  midnight,  fresh  gales  and  hazy  ;  17th,  commences 
with  strong  gales  and  squally,  with  rain.  Daybreak,  heavy 
gales  and  tremendous  sea.  Noon,  blowing  a  violent  gale, 
with  dangerous  cross  sea ;  lat.  31°  59',  Ion.  77°  2'. 

At  1,  P.  M.,  blowing  a  hurricane.  A  most  extraordinary 
phenomenon  presented  itself  to  windward,  almost  in  an  in- 
stant, resembling  a  solid,  black,  perpendicular  wall,  about 
15°  or  20°  above  the  horizon,  and  disappeared  almost  in  a 
moment ;  then,  in  the  same  time,  made  its  reappearance, 
and  in  five  seconds  was  broken,  and  spread  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  see  ;  from  this  time  to  midnight,  blowing  a  most 
violent  hurricane;  much  thunder  and  lightning,  the  thun- 
der hardly  heard,  although  we  were  struck  with  the  electric 
fluid;  wind  continued  E.  to  E.  N.  E.  till  noon  of  the  18th, 
with  equal  violence.  In  the  afternoon  it  changed  to  S.  W., 
a  little  more  moderate,  but  continued  violent  with  heavy 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  237 

gales  till  midnight  of  the  20th ;  wind  W.  a  few  hours  in  the 
afternoon  of  19th,  and  then  S.  W.  from  6,  P.  M.,  and  on  the 
20th,  W.  S.  W.  all  day,  and  also  21st.  On  the  19th,  lat. 
33°  7'.  Ion.  75°  37' ;  on  the  20th,  lat.  33°  47'  Ion.  74°  52'. 

Extract  from  the  Log  of  the  Ship  Castries,  from  St.  Lu- 
cia to  Liverpool,  M.  Mondel,  Commander.  —  At  noon,  24th, 
lat.  34°  56',  Ion.  57°  45',  strong  winds  E.  by  S.,  and  cloudy. 
At  3,  P.  M.,  increasing  gales.  At  6,  E.  by  N.,  blowing  a 
hard  gale  with  heavy  rain.  At  10,  N.  E.,  and  at  11,  blow- 
ing a  hurricane.  At  12,  N.  N.  E.,  and  at  2  in  the  morning 
of  the  25th,  wind  N.,  at  4,  W.  N.  W.,  and  at  6,  N.  W.,  and 
so  it  continued  till  the  26th,  clearing  at  10,  A.  M.,  with 
strong  breezes.  At  noon,  of  the  25th,  lat.  35°  37',  Ion. 
57°  42'. 

NOTE.  —We  had  a  sudden  lull  at  4,  P.  M.,  of  the  24th, 
whilst  reefing  topsails. 

The  Victoria  was  upset  and  dismasted  on  the  24th  of  Au- 
gust, in  lat.  33°,  Ion.  58°. 

The  barque  Clydesdale,  on  the  24th  August,  encountered 
a  very  severe  hurricane,  in  lat.  32°  30',  Ion.  59°  30'.  On  the 
23d,  about  noon,  came  on  to  blow  fresh  breezes  from  E.  S.  E. 
At  midnight,  atmosphere  dark  and  wind  S.  E.  At  noon,  of 
24th,  blew  a  complete  hurricane,  and  at  midnight  gale  mode- 
rated. 

To  these  logs,  which  are  extracted  from  Col.  Reid,  I  am 
enabled  to  add  a  few  particulars  from  the  newspapers. 

From  the  United  States  Gazette,  of  28th  Aug.,  1837.- 
Brig  Cicero,  on  18th,  in  lat.  32°  20',  Ion.  76°  40',  was  struck 
with  a  hurricane  from  the  N.  E.,  shifting  to  N.  W.  and 
round  to  S.  W.  in  24  hours,  and  was  hove  on  her  beam  ends. 

Same  paper,  of  29th.  —  Severe  gales  at  Washington,  N.  C., 
commencing  on  18th,  and  continuing  till  Sunday,  evening, 
20th.  Five  or  six  vessels  driven  on  shore  and  wrecked. 

Same  paper,  of  30th.  —  Delaware,  on  17th,  lat.  31°  30', 
Ion.  76°  2CK,  had  a  severe  gale  E.  S.  E.,  and  then  W.,  which 
continued  till  20th. 


238 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


Same  paper,  of  31st.  —  On  the  19th  and  20th,  barque 
Penelope,  in  lat.  33°  and  34°,  Ion.  72°,  experienced  a  severe 
hurricane. 

Prom  the  National  Gazette,  of  22d.  —  At  the  Delaware 
Breakwater,  on  the  20th,  the  wind  N.  E.  at  7|,  P.  M.,  blow- 
ing heavy,  with  rain.  At  10,  A.  M.,  of  21st,  wind  hauled 
to  N.  W. 

From  the  Commercial  Herald,  of  28th.  —  The  barque 
King  Philip,  on  18th,  in  lat.  31°  12',  Ion.  78°  W]  had  a  gale 
from  N.  N.  E.  to  W.  N.  W. 

Same  paper,  of  23th.  —  Brig  Oglethorpe,  on  the  18th  of 
Aug.,  lat.  32°  29',  Ion.  78°  55' ;  had  a  violent  gale  from  N.  W. 

Great  rains  occurred  in  the  western  parts  of  Pennsylvania, 
on  the  15th,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  in  the  eastern 
parts.  At  Alexandria,  D.  C.,  wind  S.  on  18th. 

Position  of  Storm  at  Noon,  on  the  18th  of  August,  1837. 


EXPLANATION  OF  ENGRAVING. 


1.  Wind  at  Wilmington,  on  P.  M.,  of  18th. 

2.  Oglethorp  on  18th. 

3.  West  Indian,  all  18th,  from  2,  A.  M. 

4.  Rawlins  all  18th,  from  2,  A.  M. 

5.  Ida,  all  day  of  18th. 

6.  Penelope  on  P.  M.,  of  18th. 


7.  Yolof  till  8,  P.  M.,  of  18th. 

8.  Westchester  on  18th. 

9.  Duke  of  Manchester  till  P.  M.,  of  18th. 

10.  Delaware  on  17th,  and  probably  on  18th, 

changing  round  to  westward  on  20th. 

11.  Cicero  on  18th. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  239 

I  have  culled  out  of  this  storm,  that  portion  of  time  in 
which  I  find  the  greatest  number  of  simultaneous  observa- 
tions, and  I  have  exhibited  on  the  annexed  wood  cut,  the 
localities  of  all  the  ships  within  the  boundaries  of  the  storm, 
whose  latitudes  and  longitudes  could  be  ascertained  with 
any  degree  of  certainty,  with  arrows,  exhibiting  the  course 
of  the  wind.  The  time  is  noon  of  the  18th  of  August, 
1837.  At  this  time,  the  Duke  of  Manchester  was  only  a 
few  miles  N.  E.  of  the  centre  of  this  storm,  for  some  time 
in  the  afternoon,  the  centre  of  the  storm  passed  nearly  over 
her,  when  the  wind  changed  pretty  suddenly  S.  W.  At 
this  time,  and  for  some  seven  or  eight  hours  both  before  and 
after,  all  those  ships  which  were  laboring  in  the  most  vio- 
lent part  of  the  storm,  had  the  wind  blowing  towards  a 
central  space  of  no  great  magnitude.  This  settles  the  ques- 
tion of  a  violent  centripetal  motion  of  the  wind  in  this  storm, 
in  conformity  with  the  five  previously  examined,  and  also 
with  the  twelve  investigated  by  the  Joint  Committee  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  and  Franklin  Institute,  and 
with  not  less  than  fourteen  land  spouts  which  have  already 
been  examined,  in  all  of  which  the  trees  were  thrown  with 
their  tops  inwards  —  and  when  any  are  thrown  across  each 
other,  those  which  are  underneath,  are  uniformly  found  to 
be  thrown  inwards  and  backwards,  and  those  on  the  top, 
to  be  thrown  inwards  and  forwards,  just  as  they  should  be, 
if  the  wind  blows  inwards.  Whereas,  if  the  wind  is  cen- 
trifugal, many  of  the  trees  should  have  the  tops  thrown 
outwards  on  both  sides  of  the  path.  Let  the  reader  cast 
his  eye  on  the  chart,  and  he  will  perceive,  in  the  borders  of 
the  storm,  some  anomalies  worth  his  particular  attention. 
If  I  have  really  discovered  a  true  law  of  nature  in  these 
storms,  these  apparent  anomalies  will  be  found  to  confirm 
the  law  in  a  wonderful  manner.  Just  as  the  moon's  anom- 
alies, when  understood,  were  found  to  harmonize,  in  a  most 
beautiful  manner,  with  the  law  of  gravitation.  The  anom- 


240  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

alous  arrows  in  this  storm,  are  the  Penelope  and  Wilming- 
ton on  the  N.,  which  seem  to  favor  the  idea  of  a  rotation  of 
the  air  from  right  to  left,  and  the  Westchester  on  the  east, 
which  seems  to  indicate  a  rotation  from  left  to  right.  This 
is  in  conformity  with  phenomena  accompanying  storms  pre- 
viously investigated  by  the  Committee,  (see  article  100,  also 
116,  Rationale)  and  it  is  in  exact  conformity  with  what  ought 
to  take  place,  if  the  wind  does  blow  inwards  towards  the 
centre  of  the  storm ;  as  will  appear  from  the  following  con- 
siderations. When  the  air  rises  in  the  centre  of  the  storm, 
and  expands  by  the  evolution  of  the  caloric  of  elasticity 
given  out  in  the  formation  of  cloud,  upwards  of  six  thou- 
sand cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot  of  water  generated  in 
the  cloud,  as  explained  before,  it  must  spread  out  in  an  an- 
nulus  all  round  the  borders  of  the  storm,  and  cause  the  ba- 
rometer to  rise,  in  that  annulus,  above  the  mean,  just  as  it 
did  in  this  storm  to  the  Rawlins,  the  Sophia,  and  West  In- 
dian, (Turner)  as  the  storm  was  approaching  their  vessels, 
and  as  it  is  now  known  to  do  in  all  our  great  N.  E.  storms 
that  come  from  the  S.  W.  If  a  storm  should  spring  up  in 
our  neighborhood,  that  is,  commence  in  our  vicinity,  and 
not  come  upon  us  from  a  distance,  such  a  rise  of  the  ba- 
rometer could  not  take  place.  Now  this  rise  above  the 
mean  will  evidently  take  place  in  front  of  the  storm,  because 
the  upper  current  of  air  is  moving  in  that  direction,  and 
of  course  the  great  body  of  the  up-moving  column  of  air  in 
the  middle  parts  of  the  storm  will  be  pressed  by  the  upper 
current  in  that  direction.  And  it  is  manifest,  that  beyond 
the  annulus  where  the  barometer  stands  ^above  the  mean, 
the  air  will  blow  outwards  from  the  storm,  and  within  the 
annulus,  it  will  blow  inwards.  But  as  in  front  of  the  storm, 
there  is  one  point  of  the  annulus  where  the  barometer  stands 
higher  than  in  any  other,  the  wind  will  tend  in  all  directions 
from  that  point,  and  of  course  it  will  cause  the  wind,  in  the 
very  borders  of  the  storm,  to  appear  to  rotate  both  ways. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  241 

As  the  air  must  necessarily  come  downwards  in  the  an- 
nulus  where  the  barometer  stands  above  the  mean,  "set 
fair,'7  for  instance,  as  it  did  with  the  Rawlins,  we  would 
expect  the  weather  to  be  without  a  cloud,  and  very  hot,  as 
it  was.  Indeed,  it  would  be  easy  to  show,  that  if  the  air 
in  the  annulus  were  to  come  down  from  a  height  of  four 
miles,  it  would  be  about  45°  hotter  than  it  was  when  it  left 
the  surface  of  the  sea  in  the  centre  of  the  storm  to  go  up, 
for  it  would  bring  down  with  it  the  caloric  of  elasticity 
evolved,  as  it  went  up,  by  the  condensing  vapor,  and  the 
quantity  evolved  in  going  up  a  given  height  is  known  if  the 
dew  point  is  given.  But  the  full  explanation  of  this  subject 
is  reserved  for  another  occasion. 

The  centre  of  the  storm  at  the  moment  I  have  chosen, 
the  noon  of  the  18th,  was  between  31°  and  32°  N.  lat.,  and 
was  at  that  time  moving  about  N.  E.,  for  the  centre  passed 
over  the  Rawlins,  and  very  near  to  the  Yolof,  about  150 
miles  to  the  N.  E.  of  the  Rawlins.  In  this  part  of  its  course, 
it  travelled  only  about  8  miles  an  hour ;  for  it  passed  over 
the  Rawlins  at  half  after  12,  in  the  morning  of  the  18th, 
and  did  not  reach  the  Yolof  till  8,  P.  M.,  of  the  same  day. 

If  this  storm  was  round  on  the  18th,  of  which  we  have 
no  proof  to  the  contrary,  there  is  strong  reason  to  believe 
it  did  not  long  continue  round.  For  on  the  21st,  it  reached 
from  the  Westbrook  to  the  West  Indian,  (Simpson)  about 
700  miles  ;  so  that  unless  it  widened  out  in  like  proportion 
in  the  other  direction,  its  N.  E.  and  S.  W.  diameter  became 
greater  than  that  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E.  If  this  was  really 
the  case,  as  it  was  in  the  storm  of  1821,  and  if  it  moved  to- 
wards the  east,  then  all  the  phenomena  would  be  easily 
explained,  and  the  storm  of  the  Wanstead,  and  the  storm 
of  the  Clydesdale,  Victoria,  and  Castries,  would  be  one  and 
the  same  storm. 

This  can  be  ascertained  hereafter ;  for,  in  this  case,  it  is 
probable  that  Bermuda  experienced  something  of  it  on  the 

31 


242  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

22d  and  23d.  If  this  meets  the  eye  of  any  person  acquainted 
with  the  fact,  either  one  way  or  the  other,  let  him  commu- 
nicate it  to  the  world.  New  facts  connected  with  any  of 
the  storms  here  investigated,  would  possess  a  very  high  de- 
gree of  interest. 

It  appears  from  the  logs  of  the  Clydesdale  and  the  Cas- 
tries, that  the  storm  passed  over  them  about  the  same  time, 
though  the  latter  ship  was  near  200  miles  to  the  N.  E. 
of  the  former.  Now  this  can  only  be  accounted  for  on  sup- 
position that  the  centre  of  the  storm  is  not  a  point,  but  a 
line,  lying  in  the  direction  of  N.  E.  and  S.  W.,  and  moving 
side  foremost,  or  obliquely.  There  is  another  circumstance 
which  favors  this  idea,  namely,  the  storm  lasted  a  much 
shorter  time  with  all  the  vessels  on  the  21st,  22d,  23d,  and 
24th,  than  on  the  18th,  though  the  storm  was  much  greater 
in  diameter  on  these  days  from  N.  E.  to  S.  W.  than  it  had 
been  before,  even  with  those  ships  near  which  the  centre 
passed;  for  instance,  the  Columbus  and  the  Delos.  But 
it  is  useless  to  conjecture.  The  data  are  not  yet  sufficient 
to  demonstrate  whether  there  were  two  storms  or  one.  I 
will  merely  add,  that  if  the  line  joining  the  Clydesdale  and 
the  Castries  should  be  prolonged,  it  would  pass  a  little  E. 
of  the  place  where  the  Wanstead  experienced  a  severe  gale 
on  the  day  before, .  lat.  43°  34',  Ion.  54°  20',  which  also 
favors  the  idea  that  these  two  storms  were  one  and  the 
same,  with  a  long  diameter  from  N.  II.  to  S.  W. 


Raleigh's  Typhoon  of  the  5th  and  6th  of  August,  1835,  in 
the  China  Sea. 

161.  As  Mr.  Redfield,  of  New  York,  has  given  a  more 
full  account  of  this  storm  than  Col.  Reid,  I  extract  the  fol- 
lowing details  from  him. 

"  H.  M.  Brig  Raleigh,  August  1,  1835.  —Working  out  of 


EXAMINATION  OF   REID'S   STORMS.  243 

Macao  Roads.  At  noon,  east  end  of  Grand  Ladrone, 
E.  \  S.  Aug.  2d,  at  noon.  S.  E. ;  end  of  Formosa,  N.  85,  E. 
340  miles;  fine  weather  all  day.  Aug.  3d,  at  noon,  S. ;  end 
of  Formosa  N.  82|,  E.  252  miles.  Fine  weather  all  day. 
Aug.  4th,  lOh.  20m.  A.  M.  close  reefed  topsails  and  courses ; 
12h.  30m.  P.  M.,  barometer  fell  from  noon  i1^;  took  in 
mainsail  and  foresail;  at  Ih.  30m.  got  all  snug;  vessel 
going  through  the  water  between  three  and  four  knots  ; 
barometer  29.40,  falling;  at  7h.  30m.  wind  veered  to 
N.  N.  E.  and  typhoon  commenced ;  at  8,  P.  M.  barometer 
29.36,  fajling;  8h.  30m.  typhoon  increasing;  10,  P.  M., 
close  reefed  fore  trysail  and  set  it;  typhoon  veering  to 
E.  N.  E.  with  a  heavy  sea ;  at  midnight  typhoon  increas- 
ing ;  barom.  29.04,  falling. 

"Aug.  5th.  3,  A.  M.,  typhoon  veering  round  to  E.  S.  E., 
still  increasing  in  violence ;  6h.  30m.  barom.  28.25  ;  8,  A.  M. 
typhoon  increasing;  9h.  30m.  A.  M.,  if  possible  blowing 
heavier,  ship  went  over ;  in  this  awful  situation  the  ship 
lay  for  about  20  minutes;  9h.  50m.  lower  masts  went  by 
the  board,  and  ship  righted  with  7  feet  water  in  her  hold ; 
barometer  did  not  fall  lower ;  at  noon  typhoon  moderated  a 
little ;  at  6,  P.  M.  typhoon  more  moderate,  with  a  heavy 
sea ;  midnight,  strong  gusts  of  wind,  with  heavy  sea  from 
S."  -  Abridged  from  Canton  Register  of  March  14,  1737. 

At  Macao,  where  the  typhoon  was  experienced  on  the 
5th  and  6th,  many  houses  were  damaged  ;  also  many  lives 
were  lost  in  the  inner  harbor,  and  some  vessels  were  driven 
on  shore.  The  direction  and  changes  of  the  wind  at  Macao 
are  not  stated  ;  but  we  are  favored  with  the  following  val- 
uable table  of  the  state  of  the  barometer  during  the  period 
of  the  storm. 


244 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


"August  5th. 

h.  m. 

Barom. 

h.  m.                       Barom. 

h.  m.                 Barom. 

0  45  a.  m. 

28.30 

6  45  a.  m.      29.12 

1  00  a.  m.    29.47 

1  20     "(few 

-#)28.05 

7  45     "          29.20 

2  30  p.  m.   29.28 

1  25     " 

28!08 

8  15     "          29.21 

5  00     "       29.20 

1  45     « 

28.20 

8  45     "          29.23 

7  20     "       29.12 

1  55     " 

28.30 

9  30     "          29.27 

9  00     "       29.08 

2  00     " 

28.37 

10  25     "          29.30 

10  20     "       28.95 

2  25     " 

28.56 

11  00     "          29.34 

10  45     "       28.90 

2  45     " 

28.68 

2  00  p.  m.       29.42 

11  05     "       28.85 

3  10     " 

28.75 

and  continued  rising 

11  30     "       28.75 

3  40     " 

28.83 

to   29.65,   at  which 

11  53     "       28.65 

4  10     " 

28.90 

point  it  usually  stands 

August  6th. 

4  45     " 

28.97 

during  fine  weather." 

0  15  a.  m.   28.50 

5  15     " 

29.02 

—  Canton  feegister, 

0  30    "       28.40 

6  00     " 

29.08 

Aug.  15. 

This  table  affords,  in  itself,  good  evidence  of  the  passage 
of  the  centre  of  the  vortex  near  to  Macao. 

At  Canton,  (60  miles  N.  of  Macao,)  the  typhoon  began 
on  the  evening  of  the  5th,  after  three  or  four  days  of  very 
hot  weather,  with  northerly  winds,  and  continued  through- 
out the  night  and  the  next  day.  Its  violence  was  greatest 
about  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  6th.  The  follow- 
ing is  an  account  of  the  state  of  the  barometer  and  winds  at 
Canton : 

August  ±th. 

9  a.  m.  barom.  29.79  Wind  N.  W.     Fine  weather. 
4p.m.       "      29.70      "     N.  byW.    Moderate  breeze. 


9  a.  m. 
4  p.  m. 


12 


m. 


August  5th. 

29.62  Wind  N.  and  N.  W.  Fair  weather. 
29.54      "    unsettled  —  rain   and   fresh 

breeze. 
29.37      "    N.    blowing   hard   and    in 

heavy  gusts. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  245 

August  §tk. 

5  a.  m.       "      29.34  Wind  N.  E.  blowing  hard   with 

heavy  rain. 

9  a.m.       "      29.51       "     S.  E.  do.  do. 

lla.m.       "      29.58       "     S.  E.  blowing   hard  — mod- 
erating. 

5  p.  m.       "      29.70      "     S.  E.  do. 

11  p.  m.       "      29.85       "     S.  E.  do. 

August  7th. 

8  a.  m.       "      29.94  Wind  S.  E.     Cloudy. 

Compiled  from  the  Canton  Register. 

On  Wednesday,  the  5th  instant,  a  typhoon  swept  over  the 
city  of  Canton.  It  began  in  the  evening,  and  continued 
throughout  the  night  and  the  next  day,  blowing  its  best 
about  2  o'clock  in  the  morning.1  The  damage  done  by  the 
typhoon  at  Canton  is  small,  but  not  so  at  Kumsingmoon, 
Macao,  and  elsewhere  on  the  coast.  —  Canton  Paper. 

Extract  from  a  private  letter  from  on  board  the  ship 
Lady  Hayes,  which  left  Macao  Roads  a  day  or  two  before 
the  storm,  and  returned  to  Kumsingmoon,  after  the  gale. 

"  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  5th.  we  observed  indica- 
tions of  bad  weather.  At  10,  A.  M.  the  wind  freshened  a 
little  from  the  same  quarter  it  had  been  for  the  last  24 
hours,  viz.  north  ;  so  we  thought  it  best  to  turn  her  head 
back  again  to  look  for  shelter,  fancying  ourselves  to  be 
about  35  miles  off  the  land.  We  carried  a  press  of  sail 
until  noon,  when  we  found  we  had  too  great  a  distance  to 
run  before  we  could  get  into  shelter,  and  expecting  it  would 
get  so  thick  that  we  could  not  see  our  way ;  so  we  turned 
her  head  to  sea,  and  clapped  on  as  much  sail  as  she  could 

1  The  reader  will  note  particularly,  that  the  wind  at  Canton  was  most 
violent  just  about  the  time  the  barometer  was  lowest  at  Macao,  and  that  it 
was  blowing  towards  Macao. 


246 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


stagger  under,  steering  S.  E.  by  E.  The  wind  being  then 
at  N.,  we  were  desirous  of  getting  as  far  off  the  land  as 
possible,  expecting  the  wind  round  to  the  eastward,  there 
being  a  most  tremendous  swell  from  that  quarter.  At  4, 
P.  M.  it  was  blowing  in  severe  gusts,  and  we  shipping  a 
good  deal  of  water,  and  the  ship  becoming  unmanageable. 
About  8h.  30m.  the  wind  began  to  veer  to  the  west,  but  con- 
tinued to  blow  as  hard  as  ever,  till  midnight,  when  it  drew 
round  to  south,  and  moderated  a  little.  It  continued  to 
blow  hard  from  that  quarter  until  noon  of  the  6th,  when  it 
moderated  fast,  and  we  began  bending  other  sails  in  room 
of  those  that  were  split.  When  the  gale  commenced,  which 
we  consider  it  did  at  1,  P.  M.  on  the  5th,  we  were  about 
20  miles  E.  of  the  Lema  ;  where  we  were  when  it  ended  it 
is  hard  to  say,  as  we  saw  nothing  till  the  morning  of  the 
7th,  when  we  made  Moridego  Island.  We  hardly  think 
we  could  have  had  the  gale  so  heavy  as  those  inside;  and 
what  is  most  extraordinary,  the  wind  with  them  veered  to 
the  eastward  round  to  south  ;  but  with  us  it  veered  to  the 
westward  round  to  south.  It  was  fortunate  for  us  that  it 
veered  to  the  westward  ;  for  had  it  veered  to  eastward,  we 
should  most  likely  have  been  driven  on  shore  among  the 
islands,  as  we  could  not  have  been  more  than  50  miles  off 
the  land,  at  8,  P.  M.  on  the  6th.  —  Abridged  from  the  Can- 
ton Register  of  August 


Log-  of  the  American  Ship  Levant,  Capt.  Dumaresq. 


Courses. 


N.  N.  E. 
Distance  by 

171  miles. 

N.  by  E.  £  E 

N.  by  E. 
Distance  by 

log, 
190  miles. 


Winds. 


S.  W. 

Breeze  6$  to 
8  knots. 


S.  W. 

Breeze  7  to  8£ 
knots. 


August  4th,  1835.     [Nautical  time.] 

Throughout  these  24  hours  fine  breezes  and 
clear,  pleasant  weather.  All  possible  sail  set. 
Current  N.  E.  by  N.  50  miles. 

Lat.  by  obs.  12°  55'  N. 

Long,  by  chr.  112°  13'  E. 

Aug.  5th.  Commences  with  fine  breezes,  and 
pleasant.  All  sail  set  and  trimmed  to  the  best  pos- 
sible advantage.  Middle  and  latter  part  the  same. 

Lat.  by  indifferent  obs.  15°  55'  N. 

Long.  "  "    113°24/E. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS. 


247 


Courses. 

Winds. 

N.  £W. 
Distance  by 

log, 
225  miles. 


S.  S.  W. 

breeze 
8J  to  10 

knots. 


Aug. 
cloudy. 


6th. 
All 


Begins   with   fresh  breezes,   and 
sail   set.     At  4,  P.  M.,  passed   a 


ibarque  standing  eastward.     Through   the   night 
strong  breezes  and  squally,  with  rain  and  heavy 


sea.     Latter  part  the  same.     Took   in  the  royal 
studding  sails.     [The  ship  wns  now  running  into 
the  path  of  the  gale  which  had  just  passed  ]     At 
11,  A.  M.,  [6th]  heavy  squalls,  with  rain  in   tor- 
rents.    Took  in  all  studding  sails,  royals,  and  top- 
gallant sails,  and  double  reefed  the   topsails.     No 
observation  :  sun  obscured. 
Lat.  by  account  19°  54'  N. 
Long.         "         11 3°  38' W. 
N.  i  W.       S.  to.S.  S.  E.      August  7th.     From  noon  to  8,  P.  M.,  strong 
N.  S.  by  W.      breezes  and  squally.     Shook  out  reefs  and  set  all 

to  S.  E.       light  sails. 

N.  Middle  part,  fine  breezes  and  pleasant- weather. 

N.  by  E.  to  At  daylight  made  the  Ass's   Ears,  bearing   E.  by 

N.  W.  and  to  N.,  distant  5  miles.     At  7,  passed  the   Great  La- 

N.  E.  drone.     After  part,  wind  S.  E  ,  and  pleasant. 

Chart  shoicing  the  course  rf  the  wind  in  Raleigh's  typhoon^  on  the  5th  vf  rfiig.,  civil  time. 


3.  Canton,  N.  and  N.  W.  all  day. 

evant  on  te    t,     .     .       .,    resh  breezes.     4.  Raleigh,  E.  S.  E.  all  day.  violent  yp 
Strong  black  line,  supposed  direction  in  which  centre  of  storm  moved  towards  W.  N.  W. 


1.  Levant  on  the  4th,  S.  W.,  fine  breezes.  3.  Canton,  N.  and  N.  W.  all  day. 

2.  Levant  on  the  5th,  S.  S.  W.,  fresh  breezes.     4.  Raleigh,  E.  S.  E.  all  day.  violent  typhoon 


248  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  abote  chart  exhibits  the  course  of  the  wind  on  the 
5th  The  reader  will  perceive  that  the  arrows,  if  prolonged, 
will  meet  in  a  central  space  of  no  great  magnitude,  where 
the  storms  must  have  been  at  that  time,  if  it  travelled  reg- 
ularly from  the  time  of  passing  the  Raleigh,  at  3,  A.  M.,  of 
the  5th,  till  it  passed  Macao,  a  little  after  midnight,  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th,  and  at  the  moment  when  the  barome- 
ter stood  lowest  at  Macao,  the  wind  was  north  at  Canton, 
and  S.  with  the  Levant,  both  blowing  exactly  towards 
Macao,  the  point  where  the  barometer  stood  lowest. 

Again,  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  wind  had  been  N. 
for  several  days  at  Canton,  and  immediately  on  the  setting 
in  of  the  typhoon,  the  wind  became  occasionally  N.  W., 
whereas,  on  the  whirlwind  theory,  it  ought  to  have  turned 
more  N.  E.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  wind  with  the 
Levant;  on  the  passage  of  the  typhoon,  the  wind  changed 
round  to  S.  E.  as  the  storm  passed  away  to  the  N.  W". 
When  the  storm  passed  Canton,  the  wind  changed  round  to 
the  S.  E.,  and  continued  blowing  exactly  towards  the  centre 
all  the  6th,  that  is,  on  the  supposition  this  storm  moved  in 
the  same  direction  as  the  West  India  storms  in  this  latitude, 
as  it  is  known  they  curve  rapidly,  on  reaching  this  latitude, 
towards  the  N.  W.  and  N.  As  to  the  Lady  Hayes,  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  where  she  was,  as  her  log  leaves  that  un- 
decided; but  if  she  was  near  Macao  at  about  3,  P.  M.,  of 
the  5th,  then  from  that  to  midnight,  an  "arrow  drawn  in  her 
locality  would,  for  that  time  and  for  some  time  afterwards, 
point  inwards  towards  the  same  space  with  the  other 
arrows. 

Mr.  Redfield  says,  in  the  pamphlet  before  me,  that  "  he 
considers  the  depression  of  the  barometer  in  these  tempests, 
as  due  to  the  rotative  action,  and  the  point  of  greatest  de- 
pression, as  indicating  the  true  centre  or  axis  of  storm." 

But  this  cannot  be  the  case,  for  I  have  shown,  in  article  88, 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  249 

that  it  would  require  an  outward  motion  of  the  air  from  the 
centre  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet  per  second  to  make 
the  barometer  fall  an  inch  and  a  quarter,  and  of  course 
a  corresponding  motion  downwards  in  the  centre  of  the 
storm.  And  Mr.  Redfield  says  "he  has  but  little  ob- 
jection to  my  formula  on  this  point,  subject  to  such  cor- 
rections for  countervailing  tendencies  as  the  case  requires."  L 
Now,  as  the  wind  tended  inwards  in  this  storm,  the  cause 
here  alleged  for  the  fall  of  the  barometer  is  not  the  true 
one. 

But  Mr.  Redfield  has  proposed  a  means  of  testing  my 
theory  in  the  following  paragraph : 

"  Test  of  Mr.  Espy's  Theory.  —  The  truth  or  error  of 
Mr.  Espy's  theory  may  be  ascertained  by  a  very  simple 
test.  The  hurricanes  in  the  West  Indies  are  known  to  move 
towards  the  W.  N.  W.  nearly.  Now,  if  this  theory  be  true,  at 
those  islands  which  are  in  the  centre  of  the  storm's  path, 
and  where  the  gale  is  of  the  greatest  duration,  the  wind 
will  set  in  at  about  W.  N.  W.,  or  exactly  opposite  to  the 
course  of  the  storm,  and  when  its  centre  has  passed  over, 
will  shift  suddenly  to  E.  S.  E.,  and  continue  violent  in  this 
quarter  till  the  storm  is  over.  But  if  the  gale  be  a  whirl- 
wind, as  the  facts  seem  to  show,  the  wind  at  such  places 
will  set  in  at  about  N.  N.  E.,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  gale 
will  shift  nearly  to  S.  S.  W.  —  the  wind  varying  from  these 
points,  and  veering  more  gradually  on  either  side,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  distance  from  the  centre  of  the  storm's  track. 
That  this  corresponds,  mainly,  to  the  facts  of  the  case,  will 
hardly  be  doubted  by  those  who  institute  the  inquiry.  The 
same  test  may  also  be  applied  to  these  storms,  as  they  move 
in  a  N.  E.  direction  along  the  shores  of  the  United  States ; 
where,  according  to  Mr.  Espy's  views,  the  gale,  on  the  cen- 
tre of  its  path,  should  blow,  for  the  first  part  of  its  dura- 

1  See  Journ.  Frank.  Inst.  for  Feb.,  1837. 
32 


250  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

tion,  from  about  N.  E. ;  and  in  the  second  half,  from  nearly 
S.  W.  But  all  our  inquiries  serve  to  show  that  the  gale  is 
violent  at  N.  E.  only  on  the  northern  portion  of  the  track 
of  the  tempest,  and  that  the  usual  changes  from  this  direc- 
tion are  not  sudden,  and  to  an  opposite  point  of  the  com- 
pass; but  instead  thereof,  we  observe  a  gradual  veering  by 
the  N.  to  the  N.  W." 

I  accept  this  test  with  the  corrections  which  I  am  sure 
Mr.  Redfield  will  allow,  namely,  on  Mr.  Redfield's  theory 
if  the  wind  sets  in  N.  E.,  in  storms  on  our  coast,  it  never 
can  change  round  to  N.  W.,  not  even  gradually,  as  he  ac- 
knowledges it  does.  Second,  this  test  can  only  apply  to 
round  storms,  and  if  any  shall  be  found  with  their  N.  E.  and 
S.  W.  diameter  much  longer  than  their  N.  W.  and  S.  E., 
then  if  such  a  storm  moves  towards  the  eastern  quarter, 
the  wind,  on  my  theory,  ought  to  set  in  from  S.  E.,  and 
change  suddenly  round  to  N.  W.,  as  a  general  rule. 

It  being  always  understood  that  allowance  is  to  be  made 
for  oblique  forces  produced  by  various  causes,  but  especially 
by  an  annulus  or  semi-annulus  of  increased  barometric 
pressure  to  the  N.  or  N.  E.  of  the  storm  in  its  onward  mo- 
tion. Let  us  then  put  the  theory  to  the  torture. 

Numerous  examples  were  given  in  the  storm  of  1821, 
before  investigated,  all  harmonizing  with  the  test  here  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Redfield,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  in 
articles  155,  156,  and  157.  Nor  is  the  present  storm  of 
1837  wanting  in  remarkable  examples.  The  Ida  changed 
round  from  N.  E.  to  S.  W.  in  twelve  hours,  having  begun 
at  N.  N.  E.,  and  continued  to  blow,  all  day  of  the  18th, 
S.  W.,  exactly  towards  the  Rawlins  and  the  Yolof,  during 
which  time  the  centre  of  the  storm  passed  near  both  those 
ships.  The  Rawlins,  also,  which  remained  nearly  station- 
ary during  the  storm,  as  appears  by  her  log,  had  the  wind  to 
set  in  N.  E.  by  E.,  and  changing  round  to  N.,  after  a  calm 
of  one  hour,  sprung  up  quick  as  thought  from  the  south  west. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  251 

and  it  did  not  change  again  from  that  point.  The  Duke  of 
Manchester  also  had  the  wind  to  change  round  from  N.  E. 
by  E.  through  the  E.  to  S.  W.,  from  which  point  it  blew 
with  violence  till  the  afternoon  of  19th. 

The  Yolof  is  a  slight  exception  ;  but  the  phenomena  with 
her  will  not  agree  so  nearly  with  the  centrifugal  theory  as 
it  will  with  mine.  The  wind  changed  round  with  her  from 
the  E.  N.  E.  to  W.  N.  W. ;  how  long  it  continued  there  is 
not  mentioned.  The  direction  of  the  wind  is  not  mentioned 
from  8,  P.  M.,  of  13th,  when  it  changed,  till  the  21st,  when 
it  was  only  a  slight  breeze  from  S.  AY".  These  are  the  only 
vessels  having  the  centre  of  the  storm  passing  near  them. 
Let  the  candid  reader  judge  how  they  satisfy  the  conditions 
required  by  the  "  test." 

I  will  now  give  all  the  evidence  on  this  point  which  I 
have  at  my  command,  of  hurricanes,  both  in  the  AArest  In- 
dies and  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  It  was  mentioned  before, 
that  Edwards,  in  his  History  of  Jamaica,  vol.  3d,  says  that 
"  all  hurricanes  begin  from  the  N.,  veer  back  to  the 
W.  N.  W.,  W.,  and  S.  S.  W.,  and  when  got  round  to  S.  E., 
the  foul  weather  breaks  up."  Arid  he  also  says,  in  the 
same  volume,  "when  the  wind  is  S.  and  S.  W.  on  the  S. 
side  of  the  island,  it  is  often  north  easterly  on  the  N.  side, 
attended  with  heavy  rains."  As  Mr.  Edwards  lived  on  the 
S.  side  of  the  island,  it  may  well  be  asked  if  the  winds  on 
the  N.  side  of  the  island,  in  time  of  hurricanes,  do  not 
change  round  from  N.  by  E.  with  as  much  constancy  as  he 
says  they  do  on  his  side  round  by  W.  ?  Also,  Col.  Capper, 
speaking  of  the  great  hurricane  which  occurred  on  the  Cor- 
omandel  coast,  on  the  29th  October,  1768,  page  60,  says : 
"  The  wind  began  from  the  N.  W.,  as  is  usual  at  the  com- 
mencement of  these  hurricanes"  And  Col.  Reid  says  this 
same  hurricane  terminated  S.  E.  (page  264.)  And  on  next 
page  he  says,  of  another,  quoting  from  Col.  Capper,  that  it 
began  in  the  N.  AY".,  and  suddenly  shifted  to  the  eastward. 


252  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

In  the  great  Barbadoes  hurricane,  of  1831,  August  the 
10th  and  llth,  as  given  by  the  author  of  the  West  Indian, 
the  wind  began  N.,  varying  from  N.  N.  E.  to  N.  N.  W., 
during  the  first  half  of  the  storm,  but  strongest  from  the 
N.  W.  and  N.  N.  W.,  and  terminated  from  the  S.  E.,  though 
once  it  reached  round,  for  a  few  minutes,  near  the  end  of 
the  gale,  to  E.,  and  soon  got  back  to  S.  E.,  increasing  to  a 
hurricane,  but  unaccompanied  with  those  fatal  gusts  which, 
from  the  western  quarter,  had  effected  so  much  destruction. 
The  hurricane  terminated  two  hours  and  a  quarter  after  this, 
with  strong  breezes  from  E.  S.  E.,  and  an  hour  after  that, 
the  dense  body  of  cloud  began  to  break  up.  (Page  38.) 

Luke  Howard,  in  his  second  volume,  gives  an  account  of 
a  hurricane  in  St.  Lucia  on  the  21st  October,  1818.  "  The 
wind  is  stated  to  have  set  in  N.  W.  at  daybreak,  and  raged 
with  tremendous  violence,  with  occasional  falls  of  rain, 
until  3,  P.  M. ;  when  becoming  southerly,  it  abated,  but  did 
not  immediately  cease." 

It  would  appear,  from  the  following  account,  that  in  lati- 
tudes as  high  as  25°,  the  storm  sets  in  N.  E.  and  terminates 
S.  W.  Mr.  Howard,  in  his  first  volume,  speaking  of  the 
Nassau  hurricane  of  the  26th  July,  1813,  says  :  "  At  about 
half  past  2,  P.  M.,  the  hurricane  attained  its  greatest  height, 
and  its  acme  continued,  without  interval,  until  5,  when  it 
suddenly  ceased,  and  in  the  space  of  half  an  hour  succeeded 
a  calm,  so  perfect  that  it  can  be  compared  only  to  that  of 
death  after  the  most  dreadful  convulsions.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  colony,  well  knowing  the  nature  of  hurricanes,  took 
every  precautionary  measure  within  their  reach,  during  the 
calm,  or  lull,  to  prepare  for  the  second  part,  expected  from 
the  S.  W.,  and  which  set  in  with  great  fury  at  about 
6  o'clock,  and  continued  until  midnight,  when  it  considera- 
bly abated,  and  soon  after  totally  ceased.  The  first  part 
of  the  storm  from  the  N.  E.,  raged  without  intermission, 
but  the  latter  part  appeared  in  heavy  blasts  of  a  few  min- 
utes' duration. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  253 

If  the  reader  will  refer  back  to  the  investigation  of  the 
great  Barbadoes  hurricane  of  1780,  he  will  find  evidence  of 
the  most  decisive  character  on  this  point.  By  examining 
all  the  accounts  of  the  beginning  of  the  storm  at  Barba- 
does, he  will  discover,  that  though  the  wind  began  to  blow 
from  the  N.  E.  with  some  violence,  from  the  oblique  force 
produced  by  the  trade  winds,  which  in  this  region  are 
known  to  blow  all  the  year,  yet  it  backed  round  to  N.  W., 
and  blew  for  many  hours  with  its  greatest  violence,  and 
then  changed  back  again  by  the  E.  to  the  S.  E.,  beyond 
which  it  did  not  go.  Now,  as  the  centre  of  the  storm  cer- 
tainly passed  within  a  few  miles  of  the  western  side  of  this 
island,  as  shown  before,  for  it  passed  between  Barbadoes 
and  the  Albemarle,  which  left  Barbadoes  during  the  storm, 
the  facts  furnished  here  are  even  more  conclusive  than  if  it 
had  been  merely  stated  that  the  wind  commenced  N.  W. 
and  terminated  S.  E. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark,  that  as  this  storm,  after 
passing  Barbadoes,  travelled  nearly  N.  W.,  and  not  W.  N.  W., 
the  conditions  required  by  the  "test"  are  fully  answered. 

In  concluding  the  examination  of  this  storm,  I  earnestly 
recommend  to  gentlemen  who  embrace  the  whirlwind  theory 
of  storms,  to  abstain  from  laying  down  rules  to  the  practical 
navigator,  founded  on  this  doctrine,  until  it  is  better  estab- 
lished than  it  is  at  present.  And  especially  I  recommend 
this  course  to  Mr.  Redfield,  lest  the  practical  evils  arising 
from  unfounded  rules  may  diminish  the  lustre  which  his 
great  discovery  of  the  translation  of  storms  in  space,  and 
their  continuity  in  time,  is  beginning  to  shed  round  his  name. 


Storm  of  18th  August,  1830. 

162.  Col.  Reid  has  copied  into  his  work  the  documents 
furnished  by  Mr.  Redfield  concerning  the  storm  of  August, 


254  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

1830.  This  storm,  if  indeed  it  was  one,  and  not  many,  was 
upwards  of  1000  miles  long  from  N.  N.  E'.  to  S.  S.  W.,  and 
at  least  five  times  as  long  as  it  was  broad  on  the  17th.  This 
fact,  though  it  seems  to  have  escaped  the  notice  both  of  Mr. 
Redfield  and  Col.  Reid,  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  follow- 
ing documents.  For  it  will  be  seen  that  the  brig  Mary  had 
a  gale  in  lat.  27*  55',  Ion.  76°  50',  which  lasted  till  the  17th, 
and  that,  on  the  same  day,  the  storm  was  felt  at  several 
points  N.  N.  E.  of  the  brig  Mary,  as  far  as  Long  Island 
Sound.  And  on  the  18th,  its  length  appears  to  be  still 
greater,  for  it  seems  to  have  reached  from  lat.  28°,  Ion.  66°, 
where  the  wreck  of  the  Julia  was  seen  on  that  day,  to  lat. 
41°  20',  long.  66°  25',  where  the  hurricane  was  tremendous 
on  the  18th  from  N.  N.  E. 

Whether  this  storm  travelled  side  foremost  exactly  or  not, 
cannot  be  ascertained  by  the  documents. collected.  It  cer- 
tainly moved  towards  the  eastward. 

It  is  even  doubtful  whether  it  was  one  continuous  storm, 
or  composed  of  several.  Yet  it  will  be  seen  that  it  com- 
menced at  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  four  hours  sooner  than  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  at  Charleston  one  hour  earlier  than 
at  Savannah,  Ga. 

But  this  does  not  prove  positively  that  the  storm  was  not 
the  same  at  all  three  places,  or  that  it  moved  backwards 
towards  the  S.  W.  For  a  storm  of  such  great  length  moving 
side  foremost,  might  have  some  portions  of  it  advanced  be- 
fore the  others,  for  aught  that  is  known  in  the  present  state 
of  the  science.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  Wilmington 
date  is  incorrect  by  twenty-four  hours;  and  if  so,  the  anom- 
aly here  spoken  of  would  disappear.  It  is  hoped,  that  this 
matter  will  be  settled  hereafter.  However  it  may  be,  the 
shape  of  the  storm  utterly  precludes  the  idea  of  the  whirl- 
wind character,  even  if  the  direction  of  the  wind  had  riot 
been  given  in  the  several  localities.  But  when  the  reader 
comes  to  the  data  below,  imperfect  as  they  are,  he  will  dis- 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  255 

cover  this  remarkable  fact;  that  on  the  17th,  the  wind  in 
the  Atlantic,  some  distance  from  the  coast  was  blowing  from 
the  S.  E.  all  the  way  from  Georgia  to  Maryland,  and  at  the 
same  time  on  shore  for  that  whole  distance  it  was  blowing 
from  the  N.  W. ;  and  that  N.  E.  of  Maryland,  as  far  as  Long 
Island  Sound,  the  wind  was  N.  E.,  and  that  the  only  record 
we  have  of  a  ship  on  the  S.  W.  of  this  area,  the  Blanche, 
shows  the  wind  on  the  17ih  all  day  from  the  S.  W.,  with 
fresh  breezes  at  the  end  of  a  violent  storm. 

There  are  some  deviations  it  is  true,  but  not  so  great  as 
to  prevent  the  above  statement  being,  in  the  general,  true. 
I  shall  now  give  all  the  documents  as  copied  by  Col.  Reid 
from  Mr.  Redfield,  together  with  some  additional  ones 
which  I  have  found  in  the  newspapers  of  that  time,  and 
leave  the  reader,  without  a  wood  cut  of  this  storm,  to  exam- 
ine the  documents  for  himself.  In  doing  so,  I  would  recom- 
mend him  to  have  a  map  of  the  coast  of  the  United  States 
open  before  him. 

Hurricane  of  1830. 

"  This  storm,  or  hurricane,  was  severe  at  the  Island  of 
St.  Thomas,  on  the  night  between  the  12th  and  13th  of  Au- 
gust, 1830. 

"On  the  afternoon  of  August  14,  and  the  succeeding  night, 
it  continued  its  course  along  the  Bahama  Islands,  the  wind 
veering  almost  round  the  compass,  during  the  existence  of 
the  storm. 

"On  the  15th  of  August,  the  storm  prevailed  in  the  Florida 
channel,  and  was  very  disastrous  in  its  effects. 

11  In  lat.  26°  51',  Ion.  79°  40',  in  the  Florida  stream,  the 
gale  was  severe  on  the  15th,  from  N.  N.  E.  to  S.  W. 

"  Late  on  the  15th,  off  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  in  lat.  29° 
58',  Ion.  80°  20',  the  gale  was  very  severe. 

"  At  St.  Andrews,  twenty  miles  N.  of  St.  Mary's,  Georgia, 
from  eight  o'clock,  P.  M.  on  the  15th,  to  two  A.  M.  on  the 


256  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

16th,  the  storm  was  from  an  eastern  quarter,  then  changed 
to  S.  W.,  and  blew  till  eight,  A.  M. 

"  Off  Tybee,  and  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  on  the  night  of 
the  15th,  changed  to  N.  W.  at  nine,  A.  M.  on  the  16th;  and 
blew  till  twelve,  M. 

"  At  Charleston,  S.  C.  on  the  16th,  the  gale  was  from  the 
S.  E.  and  E.  till  four,  P.  M.,  then  N.  E.,  and  round  to  N.  W. 

"At Wilmington,  N.  C.,  the  wind  was  from  the  E.,  and 
veered  subsequently  to  the  W. 

In  the  interior  of  North  Carolina,  the  storm  was  felt  at 
Fayetteville. 

"  In  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Hatteras,  at  sea,  the  storm  was 
very  heavy  from  the  S.  E.  and  shifted  to  N.  W. 

"  A  vessel  bound  from  New  York  to  Hayti,  in  the  middle 
or  outer  part  of  the  Gulf  stream,  about  lat.  33°,  Ion.  72°, 
experienced  the  gale  moderately  from  the  S.  W.  and  S.  S.  W., 
but  with  a  heavy  sea  from  a  very  westerly  direction,  and  is 
supposed  to  have  been  on  the  outer  margin  of  the  storm. 

"Another  vessel,  at  about  the  same  distance  from  the 
coast,  experienced  similar  effects. 

"  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  the  gale  was  felt  se- 
verely at  Norfolk,  and  also  in  Chesapeake  Bay  from  the  N.  E. 

"  Off  the  Capes  of  Virginia,  on  the  17th,  in  lat  36°  20', 
Ion.  74°  2',  '  a  perfect  hurricane,'  from  S.  to  S.  S.  E.,  from 
5,  A.  M.,  to  2,  P.  M.,  then  shifted  to  N.  W. 

"On  the  19th,  (17th?)  in  lat.  37°  30',  Ion.  74°  30',  near 
the  coast  of  Virginia,  the  gale  was  severe  at  E.  N.  E.,  and 
changed  to  W.  N.  W. 

"  Off  Chincoteague,  Md.,  precise  distance  from  the  coast 
unknown,  the  gale  was  severe  between  S.  S.  E.  and 
N.  N.  E. 

"Off  the  coast  of  Delaware,  in  lat.  38°,  Ion.  72°,  'tre- 
mendous gale,'  commencing  at  S.  E.,  at  1,  P.  M.,  on  the 
17th,  and  blowing  six  hours,  then  changed  to  N.  W. 

"  At  Cape  May,  N.  J.,  the  gale  was  N.  E.    Off  Cape  May, 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  257 

in  lat.  39°,  Ion.  74°  15',  heavy  gale  from  E.  N.  E.  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  17th  of  August. 

"  Near  Egg  Harbor,  coast  of  New  Jersey,  the  gale  was 
heavy  at  N.  E.  on  the  same  afternoon. 

"  Off  the  same  coast,  in  lat.  39°,  Ion.  73°,  the  gale  at 
E.  N.  E. 

"  In  the  same  lat,  Ion.  70°  30',  '  tremendous  gale,'  com- 
mencing at  S.  S.  E.  and  veering  to  N. 

'•  At  New  York,  and  on  Long  Island  Sound,  the  gale 
was  at  N.  N.  E.  and  N.  E.  on  the  afternoon  and  evening  of 
the  17th. 

"  Off  Nantucket  Shoals,  at  8,  P.  M.,  the  gale  commenced 
severe  at  N.  E.  by  E. 

In  the  Gulf  Stream,  off  Nantucket,  in  lat.  38°  15',  Ion, 
67°  30',  on  the  night  of  the  17th,  'tremendous  hurricane,' 
commencing  at  S.,  and  veering  with  increasing  severity  to 
S.  W.,  W.,  and  N.  W. 

"  At  Elizabeth  Island,  Chatham,  and  Cape  Cod,  Mass., 
the  gale  was  severe  at  N.  E.  on  the  night  between  the  17th 
and  18th  of  August. 

"  On  the  18th,  heavy  gale  from  N.  E.  at  Salem  and  New- 
buryport,  Mass. 

"  Early  on  the  18th,  in  lat.  39°  51',  Ion.  69°,  severe  gale 
from  S.  E.,  suddenly  shifting  to  N. 

"In  lat.  41°  20',  Ion.  66°  25',  'tremendous  hurricane' 
from  N.  N.  E.  on  the  18th  of  August. 

"  On  the  night  of  the  18th,  off  Sable  Island,  and  near 
Porpoise  Bank,  in  lat.  43°,  Ion.  59°  30',  'tremendous  gale' 
from  S.  and  S.  W.  to  W.  and  N.  W. 

"  In  lat  43°,  Ion.  58°,  severe  gale  from  the  S.,  the  manner 
of  change  not  reported.  This  remarkable  storm  seems  to 
have  passed  over  the  whole  route  comprised  in  the  foregoing 
sketch  in  about  six  days,  or  at  an  average  rate  of  about  17 
geographical  miles  per  hour. 

"  The  duration  of  the  most  violent  portion  of  the  storm, 

33 


258  PHILOSOPHY  OF   STORMS. 

at  the  several  points  over  which  it  passed,  may  be  stated  at 
from  seven  to  twelve  hours. 

"The  general  width  of  the  tract,  influenced,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  by  the  gale  on  the  American  coast,  is  esti- 
mated to  have  been  from  five  to  six  hundred  miles. 

"  Width  of  the  hurricane  portion  of  the  tract,  or  severe 
part  of  the  gale,  150  to  250  miles. 

"  Semi-diameter  of  the  hurricane  portion  of  the  storm,  75 
to  125  miles. 

"  Rate  of  the  storm's  progress  from  the  Island  of  St. 
Thomas  to  Providence  Island,  Bahamas,  15  nautical  miles 
per  hour. 

"  Rate  of  progress  from  Providence  to  St.  John's,  Florida, 
16  miles  per  hour. 

"  From  St.  John's  to  Cape  Hatteras,  N.  C.,  16|  miles  per 
hour. 

"  From  Cape  Hatteras  to  Nantucket,  on  the  south  eastern 
coast  of  Massachusetts,  18  miles  per  hour. 

"  From  Nantucket  to  Sable  Island,  off  the  south  eastern 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  20  miles  per  hour." 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Master  of  the  Ship  Illinois,  — 
I  sailed  from  New  Orleans  on  the  3d  of  August,  bound  to 
Liverpool.  Nothing  worth  notice  occurred  until  the  15th 
of  August,  in  lat  33°  N.,  Ion.  77°  10',  when  there  was  a 
very  heavy  swell  from  the  S.,  more  than  ever  I  had  expe- 
rienced before  in  this  part,  unless  preceded  by  heavy  gales. 
We  had  no  indication  of  wind  at  this  time,  but  there  was 
a  dull  arid  heavy  appearance  in  the  S.  During  the  day,  the 
wind  was  light  and  at  the  S.  E. ;  at  night,  it  shifted  to  S.  S.  W. 
On  the  16th,  it  was  a  fresh  and  wholesome  breeze;  so  that 
with  the  help  of  the  Gulf  stream  we  ran  at  a  great  rate, 
steering  N.  E.,  and  at  noon  we  were  in  lat.  36°,  Ion.  73°. 
On  the  17th,  the  wind  continued  steady  at  S.  S.  W.,  blow- 
ing a  strong  and  wholesome  breeze,  but  the  appearance  to 
the  S.  continued  dull  and  heavy;  the  sea  was  smooth  again, 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S   STORMS.  259 

and  we  seemed  to  have  outrun  the  southerly  swell.  At 
noon,  lat.  37°  58',  Ion.  69°  23',  we  were  still  continuing  to 
run  about  the  course  of  the  Gulf  stream ;  the  temperature 
of  the  water  was  86°  on  the  first  of  the  18th,  (afternoon  of  the 
17th,  current  time,)  the  wind  backed  to  the  S.,  and  began 
to  freshen  in  very  fast ;  some  heavy  clouds  arising  in  the 
S.  W.,  with  flashes  of  lightning  in  that  quarter.  At  8,  P.  M., 
the  wind  had  increased  to  a  strong  gale  ;  the  weather  at  this 
time  had  an  unusual  appearance,  but  still  it  did  not  look 
bad.  At  10,  the  wind  had  increased  and  we  took  in  our 
sails  and  prepared  for  the  worst.  At  11  o'clock,  the  sea  ran 
high  and  cross,  which  induced  me  to  heave  the  ship  to 
under  a  close  reefed  topsail.  At  half  past  12,  midnight,  all 
was  darkness ;  the  heavy  clouds  which  had  been  rising  in 
the  S.  W.  had  overtaken  us ;  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and 
the  lightning  was  uncommonly  vivid;  the  wind  had  in- 
creased in  the  space  of  an  hour  from  a  moderate  gale  to  a 
perfect  hurricane.  At  half  past  13  A.  M.,  it  began  to  veer 
to  the  westward.  At  3,  A.  M.,  it  was  west,  and  rather  in- 
creased in  violence  as  it  shifted.  At  daylight,  the  sky  was 
clear,  but  the  gale,  if  anything,  rather  increased  in  its  fury; 
the  sea  was  tremendous,  and  ran  in  every  direction.  At  7,  the 
wind  had  got  to  the  N.  W.,  and  at  9,  it  began  to  abate  a  little. 

Extract  from  the  Log  of  the  Blanche.—  At  1,  A.  M.,  of 
the  15th,  wind  north  easterly,  fresh  breezes  and  squally. 
At  6,  wind  northerly,  strong  gales,  with  violent  squalls  ;  at 
9,  a  hurricane ;  at  11  h.  30m.,  wind  changed  to  N.  W.  and 
blew  more  violently. 

At  1,  P.  M.,  south  westerly;  at  2,  more  moderate:  at  4, 
ditto  weather ;  at  7,  wind  W.  by  N. ;  from  8  till  midnight, 
strong  gales  and  squally. 

At  1,  A.  M.,  of  16th,  wind  S.  by  E.,  strong  gales  and 
squally;  at  8,  ditto  weather;  at  noon,  fresh  gales  and 
squally  ;  at  1,  P.  M.,  wind  S.  W.,  fresh  breezes  and  squally ; 
at  6  and  8,  strong  gales. 


260  PHILOSOPHY   OF    STORMS. 

At  1,  A.  M.,  of  17th,  wind  S.  by  W.,  fresh  breezes  and 
squally,  with  rain  ;  at  10,  fresh  breezes  with  a  heavy  swell ; 
at  noon,  fresh  breezes  and  cloudy  weather;  at  1,  P.M., 
wind  S.  W.,  fresh  breezes  and  cloudy  weather,  and  so  till 
midnight.  On  the  15th,  at  noon,  lat.  27°  15',  Ion.  79°  35'. 
On  16th,  lat.  30°  12',  Ion.  79°  22'.  On  17th,  lat.  31°  42', 
Ion.  76°  59'. 

Documents  of  this  Storm,  collected  by  J.  P.  Espy. 

National  Gazette,  of  28th.  —  A  Norfolk  paper  of  Thurs- 
day, 19th.  The  canopy  has  been  overcast  for  two  days 
with  clouds,  indicating  a  storm.  The  wind  blew  very 
heavy  on  Tuesday  night,  17th,  from  N.  E. ;  shifted  yester- 
day morning  to  N.,  and  is  still  blowing  a  gale,  with  every  ap- 
pearance of  something  more  severe  in  reserve.  The  tide  was 
much  higher  yesterday  in  our  harbor  than  on  any  day  this 
season,  overflowing  most  of  the  wharves. 

Same  paper  of  2bth.  Crow  Island,  (North  Santee)  Au- 
gust 17.  On  Monday,  the  16th,  about  an  hour  before  day, 
we  had  a  fall  of  rain,  the  wind  at  S.  E.  The  rain  fell  in 
showers  throughout  the  day,  and  the  wind  increased  rapidly 
till  12,  when  it  blew  a  hurricane.  The  wind  continued  from 
the  same  quarter,  and  increased  till  some  time  in  the  night. 
The  tide  rose  higher  than  I  ever  saw  it.  Mr.  Pinckney's 
vessel  is  on  my  island,  near  my  barn. 

Same  paper  ofSlst.  Ship  Brilliant,  on  the  18th,  lat.  40°, 
long.  71°,  experienced  a  heavy  gale  of  wind ;  had  all  the 
sails  torn  to  tatters. 

National  Gazette  of  Sept.  7th.  Schooner  Neuse  was 
wrecked  on  the  S.  side  of  Abaco,  on  the  15th. 

Same  paper  of  3th  Sept.  The  captain  of  the  Neuse,  says 
that  the  hurricane  commenced  on  the  afternoon  of  the  14th, 
and  lasted  18  hours  —  the  gale  was  not  felt  at  Nassau,  only 
60  miles  distant.  The  brig  Native  was  wrecked  on  the 
15th,  on  the  S.  W.  part  of  Heneagus. 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  261 

Same  paper  of  28th  Sept.  At  New  Orleans,  it  blew  a 
gale  between  the  15th  and  20th.  The  Mary  Jane  was 
driven  on  shore  on  fhe  S.  W.  side  of  Abaco.  Same  paper 
of  30th.  The  Ceres  fell  in  with  the  wreck  of  the  Julia,  in 
lat.  28°,  long.  66°,  on  the  18th  Sept. 

Same  paper  of  Aug.  3\st.  Sloop  Excel  was  driven  on 
shore  on  Wednesday,  18th,  a  little  to  the  westward  of  Lynn- 
haven  Inlet,  during  a  severe  blow  from  N.  N.  E. 

Same  paper  of  30th  Aug.  At  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  the 
New  Hanover  rode  out  the  gale  and  went  to  sea  on  the 
17th,  the  wind  having  subsided. 

At  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C.,  the  storm  was  terribly  severe, 
with  torrents  of  rain  on  Tuesday,  the  17th.  At  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C.,  it  was  on  the  night  of  the  15th,  unless  there  is 
some  mistake  in  the  date  —  also  very  violent.  In  lat.  29° 
58',  long.  80°  50',  the  barque  New  Prospect,  experienced  a 
severe  gale  on  the  15th  and  16th,  and  was  abandoned. 

Sam,e  paper  of24.tk.  At  Charleston,  S.  C.,  the  wind  be- 
gan to  blow  about  midnight  of  1 5th,  from  S.  E.  arid  E.  S.  E., 
and  continued  with  increasing  force,  doing  much  mischief, 
till  about  4,  P.  M.,  when  it  changed  to  N.  W. 

Same  paper  of  22d.  Near  Norfolk,  Virginia,  the  corn  on 
either  side  of  the  road  was  completely  prostrate,  and  large 
trees  were  torn  up  by  the  roots,  by  the  violence  of  the 
gale. 

Same  paper  of  2lst.  There  was  a  heavy  blow  from  the 
N.  E.,  on  the  17th,  off  Great  Egg  Harbor. 

American  Sentinel,  Aug.  2oth.  The  Damon,  on  the  17th, 
off  Chincoteague,  experienced  a  severe  gale  from  S.  E.  to 
N.  N.  E.,  and  the  T.  Sophia,  in  lat.  37°  30',  long.  74°  30, 
had  a  gale  from  N.  N.  W. 

Aug.  2Qth.  At  Savannah,  on  Sunday  night,  15th,  from 
1  till  9  o'clock  of  Monday,  the  16th,  severe  gales  and  heavy 
rains  at  intervals  from  N.  E.  Between  9  and  10,  wind 
changed  to  N.  W,  whence  it  continued  without  abatement 


262  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

till  12,  when  it  moderated  and  blew  from  the  westward 
during  P.  M. 

Barque  H.  Astor  was,  on  the  19th,  in  lat.  30°,  long.  68° 
24' ;  had  experienced,  the  day  before,  a  tremendous  hurri- 
cane from  the  N.  N.  E.,  —  from  New  Orleans  to  New  York. 

Same  paper  of  27th.  Brig  Mary  experienced  a  tremen- 
dous gale  of  wind  on  the  14th,  in  lat.  27°  59',  long.  76°  50', 
from  the  E.  N.  E.,  which  shifted  to  E.  S.  E.,  and  it  lasted 
three  days.  The  John  Shand  was  abandoned,  having  taken 
the  gale  on  the  15th,  in  lat.  31°,  long.  77°  20'. 

Same  paper  of  2Sth.  At  Washington,  N.  C.,  a  violent 
gale  of  wind  from  S.  S.  E.,  and  rain  on  Monday  night, 
16th.  3, 

Same  paper  of  Aug.  3lst.  Schooner  Mary  Ann,  on  17th, 
lat.  38°  48';  severe  gale  from  S.  E.  to  S.  S.  E. 

On  18th,  in  lat.  43°,  long.  58°,  heavy  gale  from  the  south- 
ward. Off  the  Highlands,  blowing  very  heavy  from  the 
northward. 

National  Intelligencer •,  Aug.  26th.  At  Wilmington,  N.  C., 
about  8;  P.  M.,  of  15th,  the  storm  set  in  with  hard  blowing 
from  the  E.,  and  increased  gradually  till  9,  when  the  wind 
began  to  rage  with  as  much  fury  as  we  can  remember  in 
any  former  storm,  and  continued  so  for  hours,  changing  to 
the  W.,  between  11  and  12.  On  the  same  night,  the  wind 
at  Charleston,  began  to  blow  freshly  from  the  S.  E.,  and 
E.  S.  E.,  about  12,  continuing  with  rapidly  increasing  vio- 
lence the  succeeding  day,  and  still  blowing  with  diminished 
violence  on  the  17th. 

American  Sentinel  of  Aug.  2kth.  Aug.  18,  lat.  37'  20°, 
long.  75°,  at  10,  A.  M.,  hove  to  in  a  heavy  gale,  S.  E.,  At 
half  past  12,  wind  hauled  suddenly  in  to  the  N.  and  N.  W., 
and  blew  a  hurricane. 

Same  paper,  Aug.  25th.  Long.  72°  42',  lat.  from  38'  21° 
to  40°  30',  at  noon,  appearance  of  a  storm ;  at  3  to  4,  vio- 
lent hurricane;  in  P.  M.,  changed  suddenly  to  N..  increas- 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS 


263 


ing  to  a  tornado.  Same  paper  says  the  wind  changed  round 
by  N.  E.,  suddenly  about  4,  P.  M.,  of  the  16th,  at  Charles- 
ton, and  S.  to  N.  W. 

Same  paper,  Aug.  2Sth.  Schooner  Packet,  30  miles  S.  E. 
of  Tybee  light,  experienced  the  gale  on  the  16th,  from  S. 
S.  E.,  shifting  to  W.  S.  W.  Aug.  30.  Capt.  Hipkins  ex- 
perienced the  gale  on  the  18th,  in  lat.  34°  45',  long.  73°,  but 
sustained  no  injury. 

Same  paper  of  Aug.  31st.  Ship  Hellespont,  off  Sable 
Island,  experienced  a  severe  gale  from  S.  W.  to  N.  N.  W., 
which  lasted  eleven  hours.  Sept.  1.  A  tremendous  hurri- 
cane from  N.  N.  W.,  on  17th,  in  lat.  40°  14',  long.  70°. 
Also  ship  Brilliant,  lat.  40°,  long.  71°,  experienced  a  heavy 
gale  from  the  N.,  for  4  hours,  on  the  18th. 

Hospital,  Philadelphia,  August,  1830. 


Day. 

Thermometer  and  Wind. 

Atmosphere. 

14 
15 
16 
17 

18 
19 

7h. 
68  E. 
74  S.   W. 
79  S.  W. 
71  N.  E. 
61  N.  W. 
64  N.  W. 

12h. 
83    S.  W. 
83    S. 
91     S.  W. 
71J  N.  E. 
72    N.  W. 
75    N.  E. 

3h. 
85  S.  W. 

76  S.  W. 

69  N.  E. 
74  N.  W. 
79  N.  E. 

7h. 

Fog- 
Cloudy. 

Rain. 
Clear. 
« 

12h. 
Clear. 
Cloudy. 

Rain. 
Clear. 
« 

3h. 
Clear. 
Clear. 

Rain. 
Clear. 
« 

Rain  on  1  5t 
16t 
17t 

ti,        0.16  inch. 
b,        1.10    " 

ti,        61 

« 

These  are  all  the  documents  which  we  have  of  this  storm. 
They  are  very  imperfect ;  yet  they  furnish  proof  of  these 
three  things :  — 

1st.  The  storm  was  several  hundred  miles  longer  from 
N.  N.  E.  to  S.  S.  W.,  than  it  was  from  W.  N.  W.  to  E.  S.  E. 

2d.  It  moved  eastwardly  with  a  velocity  not  exactly 
ascertained;  much  less,  however,  than  if  its  velocity 
should  be  estimated  from  its  appearance  along  the  coast  of 
the  United  States. 


264  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

3d.  The  wind  set  in  generally  out  at  sea  from  the  S.  E., 
and  changed  round  to  N.  W. 

163.  From  the  following  quotation,  it  would  appear  that 
a  storm  similar  to  this  in  shape  had  its  longest  diameter 
from  E.  to  W.,  and  travelled  from  N.  to  S.  More  informa- 
tion as  to  the  shape  of  storms,  and  the  direction  in  which 
they  move,  is  much  wanted. 

"After  a  few  days  pretty  fresh  breezes  from  the  S., 
clouds  suddenly  appeared  in  the  N.,  and,  hy  the  motion  of 
the  water,  we  perceived  that  an  equally  strong  wind  was 
rising  in  that  direction.  The  waves  from  the  opposite  re- 
gions foamed  and  raged  against  each  other  like  hostile 
forces ;  but  between  them  lay  a  path  some  fathoms  broad, 
and  stretching  from  E.  to  W.  to  an  immeasurable  length, 
which  appeared  perfectly  neutral  ground,  and  enjoyed  all 
the  repose  of  the  most  profound  peace,  not  a  single  breath 
troubling  the  glassy  smoothness  of  its  surface.  After  a 
time,  victory  declared  for  Boreas,  and  he  drove  the  smooth 
strip  towards  our  vessel,,  which  had  hitherto  been  sailing  in 
the  territory  of  the  S.  wind. 

"  We  presently  entered  the  calm  region ;  and  while  we 
had  not  a  puff  to  swell  our  sails,  the  wind  raged  with  undi- 
minished  fury  on  both  sides.  This  strange  spectacle  lasted 
for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when  the  N.  wind,  which 
had  been  continually  advancing,  reached  us,  and  carried  us 
quickly  forward  towards  the  place  of -our  destination."  — 
See  Kotzebuds  Nero  Voyage  Round  the  World,  vol.  2,  page 
72.  Off  California. 


An  Account  of  the  Fatal  Hurricane  by  which  Barbadoes 
suffered  in  August,  1831,  by  the  Editor  of  the  West  In- 
dian. 
164.  Page  33.  —  "  On  the  10th  morning  of  the  month,  the 

sun  arose  without  a  cloud,  and  shone  resplendently  through 


EXAMINATION   OF  REID'S  STORMS.  265 

an  atmosphere  of  the  most  translucent  brightness.  At  6,  A.  M., 
the  thermometer  stood  as  high  as  83,  which  indicated  the 
heat  to  be  one  degree  greater  than  at  sunset  the  preceding 
evening.  At  8  it  rose  to  85,  and  at  10  to  86,  at  which 
hour  the  gentle  breeze  which  had  fanned  the  country  died 
away.  After  a  temporary  calm,  high  winds  sprang  up 
from  the  E.  N.  E.,  which  in  their  turn  subsided;  calms  for 
the  most  part  then  prevailed,  interrupted  by  occasional  sud- 
den puffs,  from  between  the  N.  and  N.  E.  At  noon  the 
heat  increased  to  87,  and  at  2,  P.  M.  to  88,  at  which 
time  the  weather  was  uncommonly  sultry  and  oppressive. 
At  4  the  mercury  sank  to  86.  Until  that  hour  the  observa- 
tions on  the  weather,  as  here  detailed,  were  made  in  Bridge- 
town. At  5,  P.  M.  the  writer,  being  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  the  northward  of  the  town,  remarked  the  clouds 
gathering  very  densely  from  the  N. ;  the  wind  commenced 
to  blow  very  freshly  from  the  same  point. 

"A  shower  of  rain  presently  fell,  and  was  succeeded  by 
a  sudden  stillness,  to  which  a  solemnity  was  added  by  the 
dismal  blackness  of  the  horizon  all  around.  The  impene- 
trable body  of  cloud  extended  upwards  towards  the  zenith, 
leaving  there  an  obscure  circle  of  imperfect  light,  the  diam- 
eter of  which  appeared  to  be  about  35  or  40  degrees  of  the 
celestial  concave.  This  dismal  circle  remained  at  rest  for 
a  very  few  moments;  when  the  scud  of  it  was  seen  to  be 
in  a  state  of  ebullition  ;  the  dense  mass  of  clouds  all  around 
was  agitated,  and  separating  bodies  of  it  were  quickly  dis- 
persed to  all  points  of  the  compass.  From  6  to  7  the  weather 
was  fair  and  the  wind  moderate,  with  occasional  slight  puffs 
from  the  N. ;  the  lower  and  principal  stratum  of  clouds 
passing  fleetly  towards  the  S.,  the  higher  strata  and  scud 
rapidly  flying  to  various  points ;  after  7,  the  sky  was  clear 
and  the  air  calm ;  tranquillity  reigned  till  a  little  after  9, 
when  the  wind  again  blew  from  the  N.  At  half  past  9  it 
freshened,  and  moderate  showers  of  rain  fell  at  intervals 
34 


266  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

for  the  next  hour.  Distant  lightning  was  observed  at  half 
past  10,  in  the  N.  N.  E.  and  N.  W.  Squalls  of  wind  and  rain 
from  the  N.  N.  E.,  with  intermediate  calms,  succeeded  each 
other  until  midnight,  the  thermometer  in  the  meantime 
varied  with  remarkable  activity;  during  the  calms  it  rose 
as  high  as  86,  at  other  moments  fluctuated  from  83  to  85. 

"After  midnight,  the  continual  flashing  of  lightning  was 
awfully  grand,  and  a  gale  blew  fiercely  from  between  the 
N.  and  N.  E.  At  1,  A.  M.  of  the  llth  the  tempestuous 
rage  of  the  wind  increased ;  the  storm,  which  at  one  mo- 
ment blew  from  the  N.  E.,  suddenly  shifted  from  that  quar- 
ter, and  burst  from  the  N.  W.  and  intermediate  points. 
The  upper  regions  were,  from  this,  illuminated  by  inces- 
sant lightning,  but  the  quivering  sheet  of  blaze  was  sur- 
passed in  brilliancy  by  the  darts  of  electric  fire  which  were 
explored  in  every  direction.  At  a  little  after  2,  the  as- 
tounding roar  of  the  hurricane,  which  rushed  from  the 
N.  N.  W.  and  N.  W.,  cannot  by  language  be  described. 
About  3,  the  wind  occasionally  abated,  but  intervening 
gusts  proceeded  from  the  S.  W.,  the  W.,  and  W.  N.  W"., 
with  accumulated  fury.  The  lightning  also  having  ceased 
for  a  few  moments  only  at  a  time,  the  blackness  in  which 
the  town  was  enveloped  was  inexpressibly  awful.  Fiery 
meteors  were  presently  seen  falling  from  the  heavens ;  one 
in  particular,  of  a  globular  form,  and  a  deep  red  hue,  was 
observed  by  the  writer  to  descend  perpendicularly  from  a 
vast  height.  It  evidently  fell  by  its  specific  gravity,  and 
was  not  shot  or  propelled  by  any  extraneous  force.  On 
approaching  the  earth,  with  accelerated  force,  it  assumed  a 
dazzling  whiteness  and  an  elongated  form,  and  dashing  to 
the  ground  in  Beckwith  Square,  opposite  the  stores  of 
Messrs.  H.  D.  Grierson  and  Co.,  it  splashed  round  in  the 
same  manner  as  melted  metal  would  have  done,  and  was 
instantly  extinct.  In  shape  and  size,  it  appeared  much 
like  a  common  barrel  shade.  Its  brilliancy,  and  the  spark- 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  267 

ling  of  its  particles  on  meeting  the  earth,  gave  it  the  resem- 
blance of  a  body  of  quicksilver  of  equal  bulk.  A  few- 
minutes  after  the  appearance  of  this  phenomenon,  the  deaf- 
ening noise  of  the  wind  sank  to  a  solemn  murmur,  or,  more 
correctly  expressed,  a  distant  roar,  and  the  lightning,  which, 
from  midnight,  had  flashed  and  darted  forkedly,  with  few 
and  but  momentary  intermissions,  now,  for  the  space  of 
nearly  half  a  minute,  played  frightfully  between  the  clouds 
and  the  earth,  with  novel  and  surprising  action  ;  the  vast 
body  of  vapor  appeared  to  touch  the  houses,  and  issued 
downward  flaming  blazes,  which  were  nimbly  returned 
from  the  earth  upward.  The  corruscations,  for  the  short 
space  of  time  they  continued,  instantly  succeeding  each 
other.  This  strange  quivering,  or  darting,  of  flashes  down 
arid  up,  may  be  compared  to  the  miniature  blazing  pro- 
duced by  the  rapid  and  irregular  discharge  of  opposing  ar- 
tillery closely  engaged.  Whilst  this  remarkable  phenome- 
non proceeded,  the  earth  vibrated  in  a  manner,  and  in  time, 
answering  with  the  action  of  the  lightning.  Twice,  or 
more,  when  the  corruscations  were  more  brilliant  and  se- 
vere, but  less  rapid  in  succession,  the  earth  received  cor- 
responding shocks.  The  moment  after  these  singular  alter- 
nations of  lightning,  the  hurricane  again  burst  from  the 
western  points  with  violence  prodigious  beyond  conception, 
hurling  before  it  thousands  of  missiles,  the  fragments  of 
every  unsheltered  structure  of  human  art.  The  strongest 
houses  were  caused  to  vibrate  to  their  foundations,  and 
the  surface  of  the  very  earth  trembled  as  the  destroyer 
raged  over  it.  No  thunder  was  at  any  time  distinctly 
heard;  had  the  cannon  .of  a  hundred  contending  armies 
been  discharged,  or  the  fulmination  of  the  most  tremendous 
thunderclaps  rattled  through  the  air,  the  sounds  could  not 
have  been  distinguished.  The  horrible  roar  arid  yelling  of 
the  wind,  the  noise  of  the  tumultuous  ocean,  whose  fright- 
ful waves  threatened  the  town  with  the  destruction  of  all 


268  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

that  the  other  elements  might  spare,  the  clattering  of  tiles, 
the  falling  of  roofs  and  walls,  and  the  combination  of  a 
thousand  other  sounds,  formed  a  hideous  din,  which  ap- 
palled the  heart,  and  bewildered,  if  not  alienated  the  mind. 
No  adequate  idea  of  the  sensations  which  then  distracted 
and  confounded  the  faculties,  can  possibly  be  conveyed  to 
those  who  were  distant  from   the   scene  of  terror.     The 
sheltered  observer  of  the  storm,  amazed  and  in  a  state  of 
stupor,  was  fixed  to  the  spot  where  he  stood  ;  the  sight  and 
the  hearing  were  overpowered,  and  the  excess  of  astonish- 
ment refused  admission  to  fear.     What  must  have  been  the 
mental  agonies  of  those  wretched  fugitives,  who,  destitute 
of  a  place  of  refuge,  were  the  sport  of  the  dreadful  tempest, 
and    alive  to  all  its  horrors!     This   unparalleled  uproar 
continued,  without  intermission,  till  half  past  4,  the  raging 
blast  coming  from  the  W.,  and  other  points  to  the  south- 
ward of  it,  attended  with  frequent  dashing  and  pelting  rain. 
After  5  o'clock,  the  storm  now  and  then  for  a  few  moments 
abated,   at  which  time   the  dreadful  roar  of  the  elements 
having  partially  subsided,  the  falling  of  tiles  and  building 
materials,  which,  by  the  last  gust,  had  probably  been  car- 
ried to  a  lofty  height ;  the  shrieks  of  the  suffering  victims ; 
the  cries  of  the  terrified  inhabitants,  and  the  howlings  of 
dogs,  were  clearly  audible,  and  awakened  the  mind  to  an 
apprehension  of  the  havoc  and  carnage  which  had  been, 
and  still  were,  desolating  the  colony. 

"  At  half  past  5,  after  a  dreadful  gust  from  the  W.  S.  W., 
the  wind  suddenly  chopped  round  to  the  E.,  from  whence  it 
blew  a  moderate  gale,  which  in  a  minute  increased,  and 
changing  to  the  S.  E.,  a  hurricane  again  raged,  but  unac- 
companied by  those  fatal  gusts,  which,  from  the  western 
quarter,  had  effected  so  much  destruction.  Torrents  of 
rain  at  this  time  fell.  At  6,  the  hurricane  blew  suddenly 
and  tremendously  from  the  S.,  driving  the  sheets  of  rain 
horizontally  before  it.  This  continued  till  7}  when  the 


EXAMINATION  OF  REID'S  STORMS.  269 

wind,  then  from  the  S.  E.,  was  more  moderate ;  but  floods 
of  rain  still  deluged  the  ruins  of  the  town,  and  the  popula- 
tion, who  were  now  destitute  of  any  shelter.  At  8,  A.  M., 
strong  breezes  blew  from  the  E.  S.  E. ;  after  that  hour  the 
dense  cloud  began  to  break  up,  and  at  10,  the  sun  for  a  few 
moments  darted  its  rays  over  a  prospect  of  wretchedness 
more  replete  with  real  misery  and  sickening  to  the  heart, 
than  the  field  of  battle  after  a  sanguinary  contest." 

The  centre  of  this  storm  appears  to  have  passed  a  little 
to  the  N.  of  Barbadoes,  and  over  the  southern  extremity  of 
St.  Lucia. 

On  the  evening  of  the  10th,  no  unusual  appearance  had 
been  observed  at  St.  Lucia ;  but  as  early  as  4  or  5  o'clock 
next  morning,  the  garrison,  stationed  near  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  island,  began  to  be  alarmed ;  some  hut 
barracks  blew  down,  and  the  wind  was  then  nearly  N. 

The  storm  was  at  its  greatest  height  between  8  and  10 
o'clock  in  the  morning;  but  from  that  time  the  wind  grad- 
ually veered  round  to  the  E.,  diminishing  in  force  and 
dwindling,  as  it  were,  to  nothing  in  the  S.  E.,  and  it  was 
succeeded  by  a  beautiful  evening,  with  scarcely  a  breath  of 
wind. 

At  the  southern  extremity  of  the  island,  the  most  violent 
part  of  the  storm  is  reported  to  have  been  from  the  S.  W. 
At  St.  Vincent,  the  garrison  was  at  Fort  Charlotte,  near  the 
S.  W.  point  of  the  island ;  and  there  the  wind  first  set  in 
from  N.  W.,  veering  to  W.  and  to  S.  W.,  raising  the  water 
in  Kingston  Bay  so  as  to  flood  the  streets ;  and  it  unroofed 
several  of  the  buildings  in  the  fort,  and  blew  down  others ; 
but  at  Martinique,  (as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  re- 
port printed  in  the  "  London  Shipping  List "  for  1831,)  the 
wind  was  easterly  during  the  gale. 

"Paris,  September  15,  1831.  — The  Martial  arrived  at 
Havre  from  Martinique  ;  sailed  on  the  15th  of  August.  On 
the  llth  of  August,  a  gale  at  E.  was  experienced  there 


270 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


which  lasted  six  hours.  The  plantations  suffered  severely. 
Two  vessels  belonging  to  Bordeaux,  and  all  the  Americans 
at  anchor  in  the  road  of  St.  Pierre,  were  driven  out  to  sea. 
The  army  schooner,  the  duke  of  York,  on  her  return  from 
Trinidad  to  Barbadoes,  during  this  hurricane,  was  in  sight 
of  Granada  in  the  evening,  and  to  the  eastward  of  that 
island.  About  midnight  she  first  began  to  experience  hard 
squalls  from  the  N.  W.,  which  caused  the  master  to  take  in 
sail.  The  squalls  increased  until  the  vessel  could  carry  no 
sail  at  all,  and  she  was  expected  every  moment  to  founder. 
Happily,  at  day  light,  those  on  board  of  her  unexpectedly 
found  themselves  drifted  close  to  the  island  of  Barbadoes. 

These  are  all  the  accounts  we  have  of  this  hurricane,  yet, 
meagre  as  they  are,  the  reader  will  perceive  that  during  the 
last  two  hours  of  the  hurricane  at  Barbadoes,  after  the  wind 
changed  round  there  S.  E.,  it  was  N.  at  St.  Lucia,  and  cer- 
tainly between  N.  W.  and  S.  W.  at  St.  Vincent,  and  there- 
fore at  this  time  it  was  blowing  inwards  towards  a  central 
space,  not  far,  undoubtedly,  from  where  the  middle  of  the 
storm  then  was. 

165.  From  Reid's  Law  of  Storms,  page  51,  is  extracted  the 
following  account,  which  I  have  accompanied  with  a  chart 


1.  There  was  a  violent  gale  at  Nassau,  New  Providence 


EXAMINATION  OF  PIDDINGTON'S    STORMS.  271 

from  the  east  and  south  easJ,  on  the  29th  July,  which  con- 
tinued until  two  P.  M.  of  the  31st. 

2.  The  packet  Sea  Gull,  on  the  night  of  the  30th  July,  in 
coming  through  the  narrow  part  of  the  Florida  channel,  ex- 
perienced a  very  heavy  gale  from  the  north  west,  which  in- 
creased on  the  morning  of  the  31st,  with  torrents  of  rain. 
About  ten,  A.  M.  the  wind  was  west,  and  the  vessel  was 
anchored,  lat.  24°  40',  long.  79°  west,  twelve  miles  south  of 
Orange  Keys.     On  the  morning  of  August  1,  the  wind  in- 
creased and  blew  a  perfect  hurricane  for  about  four  hours, 
when  it  moderated  a  little,  and  veered  to  the  south  west, 
and  at  three,  P.  M.,  she  made  sail  off  the  reef. 

3.  Barque  Baltimore,  from  Havana,  experienced  heavy 
gales  from  the  westward,  on  the  31st  July,  which  continued 
till  the  first  of  August.     She  was  over  the  reef,  on  the  Ba- 
hama banks,  by  the  Cat  Keys,  and  compelled  to  anchor, 
and  ride  out  the  gale.     When  the  weather  cleared,  on  the 
second,  she  saw  three  vessels  on  the  reef,  wrecked  ;  but  she 
was  unable  to  lend  assistance. 

4.  Probable  direction  in  which  the  centre  moved. 

I  now  take  leave  of  Col.  Reid  for  the  present,  thanking 
him  most  sincerely  for  the  many  interesting  facts  with  which 
he  has  enriched  the  science  of  meteorology. 

As  to  his  water  spouts — I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  prove,  in 
Sec.  VII.,  by  numerous  facts,  that  the  wind  blows  inwards, 
at  the  sides,  upwards  in  the  middle,  and  outwards  above,  in 
this  meteor,  as  well  as  in  the  great  storms  above  investigated. 

Dr.  Piddingtorfs  Storms. 

166.  In  the  Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  for 
1840,  p.  397,  Dr.  Henry  Piddington  gives  an  account  of  a  great 
storm,  which  did  much  damage  at  Coringa  and  Vizagapa- 
tam,  on  the  east  coast  of  Hindoostan  on  the  afternoon  and 
night  of  November  16th,  1839. 


272  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

This  storm  seems  to  have  commenced  on  the  14th,  near 
the  middle  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  increased  in  violence 
until  it  reached  the  coast,  moving  towards  the  west,  or  west 
by  north,  with  a  velocity  of  about  five  and  a  half  miles  an 
hour.  On  reaching  the  coast,  it  seems  to  have  broke  up 
suddenly.  I  have  copied,  from  Dr.  Piddington's  account,  the 
following  logs,  and  embodied  the  whole  in  two  charts,  by 
means  of  which  the  reader  can  see  at  a  glance  of  the  eye, 
how  the  wind  blew  on  the  evening  of  the  15th,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  16th,  at  which  times  the  storm  was  fully 
formed  and  at  its  maximum  violence.  It  is  worthy  of  par- 
ticular remark,  that  to  the  ships  as  far  as  91°  or  92°  east 
longitude,  the  wind  freshened  up  from  the  eastward,  and 
continued  in  that  quarter  during  the  whole  of  the  gale, 
while  all  the  other  ships,  which  had  the  violence  of  the  gale 
to  pass  over  them,  had  the  gale  first  iu  some  westerly  direc- 
tion, and  last  from  some  point  easterly.  From  this  circum- 
stance alone,  it  follows  (as  the  storm  itself  certainly  moved 
towards  the  west)  that  the  wind  blew  inwards  towards  the 
central  parts  of  the  storm. 

Again,  as  Hope  Island,  near  Coringa,  was  undoubtedly  a 
little  north  of  the  central  line  along  which  the  storm  passed 
in  its  motion  towards  the  west,  and  as  the  wind  there,  on 
the  near  approach  of  the  centre  of  the  storm,  raged  with 
great  violence  from  the  N.  W.,  and  changed  round  by  the 
N.  to  N.  E.  and  E.,  and  next  day  to  the'S.  E.  This  is  an- 
other circumstance  which  proves  that  the  motion  of  the  wind 
was  inwards.  If  this  storm  was  a  whirlwind,  the  wind  at 
Hope  Island,  having  once  blown  from  N.  W.,  must  have 
veered  round  by  west.  As  to  the  barometer,  its  fall  seems 
to  be  confined  to  the  limits  of  the  storm,  which  was  probably 
not  more  than  two  or  three  hundred  miles  in  diameter.  By 
examining  the  records,  given  by  Dr.  Piddington,  I  find  that 
the  barometer  fell  from  midnight  of  the  16th,  to  midnight 
of  the  17th,  at  Coringa,  about  an  inch,  whilst  at  Calcutta, 


EXAMINATION  OF  PIDDINGTON'S  STORMS. 


273 


perhaps  only  about  500  miles  N.  E.  from  there,  the  barometer 
was  stationary,  or  nearly  so,  during  the  whole  progress  of 
the  storm.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  the  river  at  Coringa, 
began  to  rise  when  the  wind  was  N.  W.  This  rise  was  no 
doubt  produced  by  the  fall  of  the  barometer,  together  with 
the  influence  of  the  south  east  wind,  which  was  then  prevail- 
ing, at  no  great  distance  from  the  coast.  Instances  have  been 
known,  on  our  own  coast,  where  the  tide  has  risen  to  a  very 
great  height,  with  a  violent  N.  W.  wind  and  low  barometer. 

Dr.  Piddington  thinks  this  storm  and  the  two  others  which 
follow,  were  whirlwinds,  moving  in  the  direction  that  Mr. 
Redfield  contends  for,  but  the  reader  will  perceive  that  there 
was  a  decided  inward  motion,  if  not  exactly  to  a  central 
point,  at  least  to  a  central  space  or  line,  in  all  these  storms. 
It  may  be  added  that  the  irregularities  which  appear  in 
these  storms,  may  well  depend  on  the  wide  extended  rains 
which  seem  to  have  accompanied  them  all. 

The  first  chart  below  exhibits  the  course  of  the  wind  on 
the  night  of  the  15th,  till  about  midnight;  the  second,  the 
course  of  the  wind,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th. 


35 


274 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


2.Q.. 


.15 


EXPLANATION    OF   THE   WOOD   CUTS. 


No. 

1.  Arethusa,  at  2,  P.  M.,  of!5th>  increased  to 

a  hurricane,  W.  N  W.,  changed  at  4, 
to  W.  S.  W.,  and  at  9,  S.  S.  W,;  at  11, 
moderating,  at  midnight,  S.  S.  E.,  be- 
tween 15  deg.  and  16  deg.  lat.  and  86 
deg.  to  85  deg.  long.  Wind  moderating 
at  4  A.  M.  of  16th,  at  6,  S.  E.,  and  so 
all  day  of  16th  and  17th,  much  rain 
from  the  12th  till  the  16th,  with  the 
wind  N.  E.  till  3  or  4  A.  M.  of  15th, 
changing  round  to  N.  at  6  A.  M.,on 
16th,  lat.  15  deg.  30  min.  long.  85  deg. 
9  min. 

2.  Ripley  (Brig)  violent  gale  for  24  hours, 

wind  N.  N.  W.  and  N.  W.  on  15th, 
changing  at  4  P.  M.,  W.,  and  at  6  P.  M., 
W.  S.  W..  moderating  a  little  ;  bar.  all 
day  from  '29.30  to  29.40,  midnight,  S. 
W.,  next  morning  at  6,  S.  S.  W.,  and 
at  9,  S.  by  E.,  and  at  10  P.  M,  it  ceased 
raining,  with  strong  breeze  and  fine 
clear  weather;  wind  S.  E.,  all  17th,  on 
night  of  15th,  between  lat.  14  and  15, 
and  long.  86  deg.  and  87  deg.  Much 
rain  from  13th  till  10  P.  M.  of  16th. 
(?  A.  M.)  on  16th,  lat.  15  deg.  38  min. 
long.  86  deg.  57  min. 

3.  Le  Balguerie,  lat.  in  night  of  15th,  about  19 

deg.  N.,  long,  about  88  deg.  E.  Much 
rain  and  squally  P.  M.  North  easterly. 
On  14th,  and  squally ,N.  E.  and  N.  N.  E. 
on  night  of  15th,  moderating  a  little  at 
midnight  ;  at  daylight  E.  N.  E.  and  E., 
squally  and  rain. 

4.  Duke  of  Bedford,  blowing  hard  E.  from 

noon  of  15th  till  noon  of  16th,  except 
a  short  lull  of  20  minutes,  at  11  P.  M. 
of  15th.  About  lat.  18  deg.  25  min., 
long.  89  deg.  20  min.,  wind  continued 
light,  E.  on  the  17th,  having  cleared 


on  night  of  16th.  Barometer  on  14th 
and  15th,  29.80  minim.,  wind  south 
easterly  from  the  12th,  on  which  day 
the  lat.  was  11  deg.  41  min.,  long.  91 
deg.  21  min.,  wind  S.  E.,  fine. 

5.  Ship  Cashmere,  Merchant,  lat.  17  deg. 

30  min.,  Jong.  92  deg.  25  min.,  gale  in- 
creasing on  14th  throughout,  E.  S.  E., 
continuing  on  A.  M.  of  15th,  with 
heavy  squalls  and  rain,  and  so  till  mid- 
night, S.  E.  On  16th,  fresh  breezes  and 
clear,  E.  S.  E.,  same  on  17th.  Strong 
easterly  breeze  from  midnight  of  12th, 
on  which  day  the  ship  was  in  lat.  16 
deg.  58  min.  long.  92  deg.  25  min.,  in- 
creasing breeze  from  E.  N.  E. 

6.  Barque  Sumatra,  about  lat.   18  deg.  50 

min.,  long.  89  deg.  20  min.  E.  N.  E. 
all  day  and  night  of  15th,  heavy  gales 
with  constant  rain  all  night  and  next 
morning'till  noon,  and  at  sunset  heavy 
squalls  and  rain  at  intervals.  Wind 
E.  S.  E.  to  8,  P.  M.,  then  S.  E.  by  E. 
till  next  day,  weather  moderating  all 
day  17th.  On  16th,  lat.  18  deg.  40  min. 
long.  89  deg.  12  min. 

7.  Steamer  Ganges,  lat.  about  17  deg.,  long 

89  deg.  50  min.  S.  E.,  hard  gales  in 
morning  of  15th,  decreasing  all  day, 
and  at  midnight  stiff  breeze,  S.  E.; 
next  morning  and  all  day  moderate, 
S.  E.  by  E.  and  E.  by  S. 

8.  Hope  Island,  off  Coringa,   on  16th  the 

wind  commenced  blowing  from  the 
north  eastward  with  drizzling  rain  till 
1,  P.  M.,  when  itshifted  tothe^N.  N.  W. 
and  terminated  in  a  gale.  About  2, 
P.  M.  the  wind  shifted  N.  W.  when 
the  river  commenced  rising,  and  at  8 
the  island  was  under  water.  At  10, 


EXAMINATION  OF  PIDDINGTON'S  STORMS. 


275 


it  shifted  to  N.  E.  and  blew  a  dreadful 
hurricane,  and  at  12  it  was  eastward, 
and  at  1,  A.  M.,  of  17th  it  was  south 
eastward,  tremendous  strong  ;  at  day- 
break tlift  weather  cleared  up.  Ba- 
rometer fell  about  one  inch. 
9.  Vizagapatam.  Wind  increased  from  N. 
E.  all  night  of  15th,  to  a  decided  gale, 
and  on  the  morning  of  Kith,  it  veered 
to  the  northward,  and  blew  hard  the 
whole  day  from  A',  to  N.  E.,  mostly  N. 
strongest  about  10,  A.  M.  In  the  even- 
ing, it  got  back  to  the  eastward,  ami 
blew  hard  and  steadily  during  the  night 
east,  north  east  to  east,  without  much 
rain.  In  the  morning  it  moderated  and 
shifted  to  the  S.  E.,  and  veering  to  the 
south,  it  became  more  moderate  with 


showers  of  rain  during  the  day,  on  the 
morningof  18th,  the  gale  had  subsided. 
Gale  was  not  much  felt  thirty  miles  N. 
by  E.,  nor  forty  miles  west  trom  this 
place. 

10.  Indian  Queen  stood  out  to  sea  from  Visa- 
gapatam  at  1  h.  30  m.  A.  M.,  of  Kith, 
wind  N.  to  N.  N.  E.,  very  threaten- 
ing at  9,  A.  M.,  N.  E.,  strong  gales  in- 
creasing  at  noon  ;  hove  to  under  main 
trysail.  At  this  time  about  seventy 
miles  S.  E.  from  Visagapatam  ;  at  (>, 
P.  M.,  wind  E.  N.  E.  gale  increasing  ; 
wind  still  veering  to  S.  E.  by  midnight, 
still  increasing,  abating  at  (>,  A.  iM., 
south,  then  ofl'  Juggernautporem,  near 
Coringa. 


June  Storm. 

168.  I  have  also  copied  from  Dr.  Piddington  an  account 
of  a  great  storm  which  occurred  on  the  5th  of  June,  1839, 
at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  It  is  accompanied  with 
a  chart  and  arrows,  showing  the  course  of  the  wind  on  that 
day. 


8!0         20  8i5 

• 


120 


8!0 


No. 

1.  Calcutta  E.  S.  E.  strong. 

2.  Diamond  Harbor  E.  to  S.  S.  E.,   stron* 

with  heavy  rain.  lat.  22  deg.   11  min., 
Ion.  88  deg.  11  min. 
J.  Kedgree,  same.  lat.  21  deg.  52  min.  Ion. 

87  deg.  59  min. 

4.  Hope,   S.  S.  E.  very  hard  all  night  of  4th 
and  day  of  5th,  lat.  21  deg.  26  min.  Ion. 

88  deg.  07  min. 


5.  Beacon,  same  as  Diamond,  lat.  21  deg. 

Ion.  88  deg.  27  min.,  S.  E.  and  S.  S.  E. 
blowing  heavy  ;  but  more  moderate 
than  last  night,  [not  marked  for  want 
of  room.] 

6.  Jane,  same. 

7.  Amherst,  lat.  20  deg.  3  min.  Ion.  87  deg;., 

perfect  hurricane" all  night  of  4th,  till 
2  A.  M.,  S.  to  S.  S.  W.,  then  began  to 


276  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

moderate  all  day  of  5th,  under  foresail     14.  Mobile,  lat.  16  deg.  20  min.,  Ion.  85  deg. 
and  close  reefed  maintopsail,  with  rain.  20  min.,  S.  W.  veering  to   S.   S.  W. 

8.  Krishna,  lat.  19  deg.  40  min.,  Ion.  86  deg.  more  moderate  rain  in  P.  M. 

27  min.,  dead  calm  at  1,  P.  M  ,  and  15.  J.  W.  Dare,  lat.  18  deg.  44  min.,  Ion.  93 

wind  suddenly  veered  round  from  N.  deg.  50  min.,  S.  E.  on5cn,  smart  breez- 

and  N.  W.  to  S.  W.,  and  blew  a  furi-  es  on  night  of  2d  and  morning  of  3d, 

pus  gale,  moderating  at  6,  next  morn-  heavy  gale  from  S.  S.  E.      The  gale 

ing.  was  then  at  its  height,  having  begun 

9.  Juggernaut  Pagoda,  lat.  19  deg.  48  min.,  about  noon  of   2d.      It    reached  the 

Ion.  85  deg.  48  min.,  gate  N.  on  4th,  Krishna  at  1,  P.  M.   of  5th,  with  its 

on  5th,  S.  W.  centre. 

10.  Mary  Somerville,  18  miles  S.  W.  half  W.     16.  Akyab,  lat.  20  deg.  5  min.,  Ion.  92  dec. 

from  above,  strong  gale  S.  W.,  increas-  50    min.,  E.  gales,  with  rain  for  24 

ing  to  a  severe  gale  S.,  being  then  15  hours. 

miles  S.  of  E.  from  above.    On  the  4th,  17.  Lady  Macnaugten,  lat.  14  deg.  51  min., 

fresh  gales  W.,  with  heavy  rain.  Ion.  88  deg.  16  min.,  on  4th  and  5th,  W. 

11.  Justina,  lat.  18  deg.  15  min.,  Ion.  85  deg.  by  S.  to  S.  W.  by  S.  very  severe  gale, 

11  min.,  on  the  5th,  S.  W.,  moderate ;  moderating  on  5th.               .. 

very  severe  on  the  4th,  P.  M.,  S.  W.  by  18.  Masulipatam,  W.  N.  W.  blowing  very 

S.  5   on  4th,   W.  S.  W.,  severe  gale  fresh  on  4th  and  5th. 

veering  to  S.  W.,  P.  M.  19.  Laurel  Amelia,  lat.  17  deg.  22  min.,  Ion. 

12.  Ann  Lockeby,  same  as  Amherst  all  night  83  deg.  44  min.,  on  5ih,   westward  a 

of  4th  and  5th,  till  4,  P.  M.,  with  heavy  hurricane.    On  4th,  west,  hard  gales, 

rain.  Lat.  16  deg.  56  min.,  Ion.  82  deg.  58 

13.  Eden,  lat.  18  deg.  1  min.,  Ion.  86  deg.  52  min. 

min.    Hurricane  W.  S.  W.  all  night  of    20.  Direction  of  centre  of  the  storm. 

4th  and  5th  till  4,  P.  M.,  with  heavy 

rain. 

This  storm  was  of  great  length  from  south  east  to  north 
west,  for  its  south  east  border  had  hardly  left  the  J.  W. 
Dare,  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  when  its  north  west  bor- 
der had  reached  Chuprath,  lat.  25°  40',  long.  84°  40'.  How 
great  its  diameter  in  the  other  direction  is  not  known.  But 
one  thing  is  certain,  that  all  the  winds  on  the  north  east 
side  were  from  eastward  or  south  eastward ;  and  all  the 
winds  on  the  south  west  side  were  from  the  south  west- 
ward, as  far  as  known,  after  the  centre  of  the  storm  passed, 
with  the  exception  of  No.  18  and  19,  at  a  great  distance 
from  the  centre. 

Dr.  Piddington  makes  the  centre  of  this  'storm,  at  noon  of 
the  5th,  lat.  19°  25',  long.  87°  1'.  He  seems  to  think  that 
all  these  storms  were  round,  as  I  suppose  all  must,  who 
believe  in  the  centrifugal  doctrine. 

September  Storm. 

169.  Dr.  Piddington  has  also  given  an  account  of  a  great 
storm,  which  occurred  at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal, 
on  the  morning  of  the  21st  September,  1839.  It  will  be 
seen  by  the  accompanying  chart  and  extracts  from  the  Doc- 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM. 


•277 


tor's  account,  that  the  centripetal  tendency  of  the  wind  in 
this  storm  was  quite  marked. 

Chart,  showing  the  course  of  the  wind  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  Sept.,. 
1839,  in  the  storm  at  tlie  head  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal. 


8:0 


BAY    OE, BENGAL 


No. 

1.  Calcutta,  P.  W.  at  5,   A.  M.,  squalls  and 

rain,  wind  changed  from  N.  W.  after 
midnight,  with  lieavy  gusts  and  rain. 

2.  Moorshrdabad,  N.  W.  all   day  with  tre- 

mendous gusts  of  wind  and  rain.  This 
station  is  about  90  or  100  miles  north 
of  Calcutta. 

3.  Maldah,  X.  to  N.  W.  all  nightof  20th,  and 

day  of  2Lsttill  3,  P.  M., "abating  gradu- 
ally till  10J. 

4.  Rungypore,  at  10  o'clock  30  min.,  A.  M., 

of  2()th,  a  storm  commenced  N.  E., 
and  continued  till  1,  A.  M.  of  21st,  but 
increased  again,  until  from  8  to  10  A. 
M.,  it  blew  very  hard  between  N.  and 
N.E. 


5.  Chilakhal,  wind  N.  E.  all  day  20th  and 

21st. 

6.  Jamalpore,  wind  E.  on  21st,   varying  a 

little  S.  of  E.,  severe  all  night  of  20th, 
diminishing  all  next  day,  lieavy  rain. 

7.  Dacca,  S.  E.,  hard  with  heavy  rain  at.  3, 

A.  M.  of  21st,  with  heavy  squalls  till 
6,  A.  M.,  when  the  rain  ceased. 

8.  Coin'illa,  P.  E.  by  S.  all  night  of  20th,  and 

morning  of  21st,  heavy    showers    of 
rain. 

9.  Burrisaul,  very  violent  S.   E.  till  after 

midnight    of    2l!th,    then    settled    S,, 
changing  to  W.  on  morning  of  21st. 


Professor  Loomis^s  Storm. 

170.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th  December,  1836,  says 
Professor  Loomis/  the  barometer  was  at  an  unusual  height 


1  Trans.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  vol.  vii.  p.  150,  new  series.     (Prof.  Elias  Loomis, 
of  Western  Reserve  College,  Ohio.) 


278  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

along  the  line  of  the  Mississippi  river,  while  in  the  eastern 
States  it  was  quite  low,  but  rapidly  rising ;  and  the  wind  east 
of  Detroit  was  then  very  uniformly  blowing  from  the  west. 
In  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  the  barometer  was  at  its 
maximum,  and  the  winds  consequently  were  light,  and 
their  directions  various.  There  was  a  barometric  mini- 
mum at  this  time  not  far  to  the  west,  towards  which  the 
whole  [lower  ?]  atmosphere  soon  precipitated  itself  with 
great  violence. 

The  barometric  maximum  travelled  easterly,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  20th,  it  passed  through  the  eastern  extremity 
of  Maine.  The  barometric  minimum  now  coincides  nearly 
with  the  bed  of  the  Mississippi  river.  On  the  west  of  this 
line  the  wind  blows  from  the  north  and  north  west ;  on  the 
east  side  it  blows  from  the  east  south  east  and  south.  The 
winds  in  this  direction  blow  with  great  strength. 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st,  the  barometric  minimum 
had  arrived  nearly  at  the  city  of  New  York.  In  all  the 
middle  and  western  States,  the  wind  is  from  the  west  and 
north  west.  At  a  few  places  it  is  north,  and  at  a  few  others 
south  west;  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  barometric  mini- 
mum the  prevalent  direction  is  from  the  south  east. 

In  the  line  of  the  minimum  itself,  which  extended  from 
Florida  to  Quebec  [and  probably  twice  as  far]  the  mean 
direction  of  the  wind,  which  was  very  strong,  was  about 
south  5°  east.  At  a  certain  distance;  however,  from  the 
line  of  minimum,  the  courses  are  very  uniformly  south  east. 
In  the  afternoon  of  the  21st,  the  line  of  minimum  had 
nearly  reached  Boston,  and  the  north  west  wind  had  be- 
come the  prevalent  one  throughout  almost  the  entire  United 
States.  In  the  extreme  west,  the  wind  had  begun  to  mod- 
erate its  violence,  and  at  Fort  Jesup  it  was  north  east ;  at 
Fort  Gibson,  east,  and  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  south  east. 

On  the  22d,  the  north  west  wind  was  almost  every  where 
the  prevalent  one,  particularly  in  the  eastern  States,  where 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM.  279 

it  blew  invariably  from  some  point  between  the  north  and 
south  west.  On  the  southern  border  it  blew  very  uniformly 
from  the  north,  and  in  the  western  States  the  winds  were 
becoming  light  and  irregular,  veering  round  to  the  south 
and  south  east,  as  they  had  done  three  days  before. 

At  the  rate  with  which  the  storm  moved  across  the  western 
States,  it  would  have  travelled  from  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  Fort  Levenworth  in  sixteen  hours.  And  Professor  Loo- 
mis  says  there  can  be  no  reason  seen  why  the  storm 
should  not  have  extended  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  But 
he  thinks  it  could  not  have  come  from  beyond  them ; 
for  even  if  a  warm  moist  current  should  blow  across  those 
mountains,  it  would  be  a  cold,  dry  air  when  it  descended 
on  the  other  side. 

So  far,  then,  as  rain  is  concerned,  the  Rocky  Mountains 
must  be  supposed  the  western  boundary  of  the  storm. 

I  am  unable,  says  the  Professor,  even  to  conjecture  the 
probable  limit  of  the  storm  on  the  north.  The  oscillation 
of  the  barometer  increased  pretty  uniformly  from  the  most 
southern  station  [lat.  20°]  to  the  most  northern  [Quebec]. 
Why  should  not  the  storm  have  extended  as  far  to  the  north 
as  it  did  to  the  south  of  this  station  ?  On  this  supposition 
the  northern  limit  would  be  near  the  arctic  circle.  At  a 
little  distance  from  the  line  of  barometric  minimum,  on  the 
east,  the  wind  was  from  the  south  east,  while  on  the  west, 
it  blew  from  the  north  west.  These  were  both  violent 
winds,  probably  not  less  than  forty  miles  an  hour.  But 
how  is  it  possible  for  two  winds  not  far  separated  from  each 
other  to  blow  violently  towards  each  other  for  hours,  and 
even  days,  in  succession  ? 

The  Professor  here  endeavors,  at  some  length,  to  prove 
that  the  south  east  wind  ascended  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  while  the  north  west  wind  flowed  under  it ;  and  that 
the  south  east  wind,  on  ascending,  divided,  part  going  to 
the  south  east  and  part  to  the  north  west.  The  cause  of 


280  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  commencement  of  the  south  east  wind  was  the  fact  that 
the  greatest  depression  of  the  "barometer  was  at  some  point 
north  of  the  United  States.     The  chief  cause  of  the  depres- 
sion of  the  barometer,  he  says,  was  this :  "  The  south  east 
wind,  which  accompanied  the  rain,  moved  with  an  accel- 
erated velocity.     The  particles,  therefore,  of  air  at  one  ex- 
tremity of  the  current  must  have  left  those  of  the  other  ex- 
tremity at  an  increased  distance.    Hence  a  mechanical  rare- 
faction, and  of  course  diminished  pressure,  near  the  cen- 
tral line  of  greatest  depression :  part  of  the  depression,  he 
thinks,  is  due  to  the  upward  motion  of  the  air."     With 
great  respect  for  the  opinion  of  the  author  of  this  very  able 
and  most  important  paper,  I  dissent  entirely  from  the  views 
here  expressed  as  to  the  causes  of  the  barometric  depression. 
There  is  but  one  cause  of  the  great  barometric  fluctua- 
tions —  the  change  of  weight  of  the  whole  column  of  air 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth  to  the  surface  of  the  atmo- 
sphere ;  and  this  weight  can  be  affected  to  any  considerable 
extent  only  by  heat  —  sensibly,  however,  by  moisture.     The 
Professor  thinks  it  cannot  depend  principally  on  heat,  for 
the  barometer  sometimes  falls -as  the  temperature  of  the  air 
diminishes.     But  if  the  doctrine  every  where  taught  in  this 
book  is  correct,  the  upper  regions  of  the  air  at  this  very 
time  are  in  temperature  greatly  above  the  mean,  containing 
the  latent  caloric  of  vapor  recently  condensed  in  a  neigh- 
boring storm  of  rain  or  snow.     An  upmoving  current  of  air 
is  a  proof  that  the  barometer  is  depressed  where  it  exists 
below  what  it  is  in  the  borders  of  the  upmoving  column ; 
but  it  is  not  the  cause  of  that  depression.     On  the  contrary, 
if  the  air  were  forced  in  on  all  sides  by  mechanical  means, 
by  impulsion  and  not  by  aspiration,  towards  a  central  space, 
it  would  ascend  over  that  space,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
barometer  would  rise  ;  and  the  laws  of  spouting  fluids  teach 
us  that  the  rise  of  the  barometer  would  be  in  proportion  to 
the  square  of  the  velocity  of  the  ascending  air.     Indeed, 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM.  281 

there  is  no  conceivable  way  of  preventing  an  accumulation 
of  air  over  a  space  towards  which  the  air  below  blows,  and 
thus  a  rise  of  the  barometer  under  the  ascending  column  or 
current,  but  by  supposing  an  outward  motion  of  the  air 
above;  and  this  is  true  in  all  cases  where  the  motion  of  the 
air  is  inwards  below,  even  if  there  should  be  a  gyration  or 
whirlwind  there.  Now,  as  the  barometer  stands  low  in  the 
middle  of  all  storms,  it  follows  that  the  air  must  run  out 
above  as  fast  as  it  runs  in  below  ;  and  if  Professor  Loomis 
will  calculate  the  expansion  of  the  air  in  the  cloud,  due  to 
the  evolution  of  the  caloric  of  elasticity  and  caloric  of  flu- 
idity, during  the  condensation  of  vapor  which  formed  the 
cloud,  he  will  find  it  adequate  to  produce  the  effect  in  ques- 
tion, without  calling  in  the  aid  of  any  other  causes.  It  is 
not  the  acceleration  of  the  air  below  towards  the  centre  of 
the  storm  which  causes  the  barometer  to  stand  low  there ; 
it  is  the  out-spreading  of  the  air  above,  which  is  the  cause 
both  of  the  fall  of  the  barometer  and  of  the  inward  motion 
of  the  air  below.  In  the  case  of  tornadoes,  it  has  been  sup- 
posed that  the  outward  motion  of  the  air  above  was  pro- 
duced by  the  centrifugal  force  of  a  mighty  whirlwind  in 
those  lofty  regions;  and  Mr.  Osier,  finding  there  was  no 
whirl  below,  applied  that  conjecture  to  the  great  Liverpool 
storm  of  the  6th  and  7th  of  January,  1839;  but  since  that 
storm,  as  well  as  this,  was  of  immense  and  unknown 
length  from  N.  N.  E.  to  S.  S.  W.,  this  conjecture  cannot  be 
true ;  and  therefore  it  seems  probable,  from  this  fact  alone, 
that  it  is  not  true  in  case  of  tornadoes. 

Besides,  it  is  altogether  unphilosophical  to  suppose  a 
whirlwind  above,  without  showing  some  possible  way  in 
which  that  whirlwind  could  be  produced,  which  I  think 
never  can  be  done.  Professor  Loomis  has  not  attempted  to 
show  that  the  cause  which  I  assign  for  the  fall  of  the  baro- 
meter in  storms,  is  inadequate  to  produce  the  effect;  though 


282  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

he  clearly  shows  that  not  one  of  the  causes  which  others 
have  assigned  can  account  for  the  phenomenon. 

If  the  cause,  however,  which  he  assigns,  is  the  true  one, 
it  was  unnecessary  to  mention  mine,  for  the  establishment 
of  one  is  the  refutation  of  the  other. 

But  the  professor  also  thinks  that  "  part  of  the  depression 
is  due  to  the  upward  motion  of  the  air." 

To  this  proposition  I  cannot  assent. 

Let  the  reader  imagine  one  barometer  in  the  inside  of  a 
storm  cloud  near  the  top,  ten  miles  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  another  at  the  same  elevation  on  the  outside  of 
the  cloud.  Now  though  there  is  a  strong  current  of  air 
rushing  upwards,  past  the  barometer  in  the  cloud,  yet  that 
barometer  will  stand  higher  than  the  one  on  the  outside 
which  is  in  no  such  under  current.  (175.) 

The  reason  it  will  stand  higher  is  that  there  is  more  air 
over  the  one  in  the  top  of  the  cloud,  than  over  the  other  on 
account  of  the  expansion  of  the  air  in  the  cloud,  and  its 
swelling  up  to  the  very  top  of  the  atmosphere  and  rising 
higher  there  than  in  surrounding  regions.  Indeed  the  very 
fact,  that  the  air  spreads  outwards  on  all  sides  in  these  high 
elevations  from  the  centre  of  the  storm,  which  professor 
Loomis  admits,  and  indeed  proves,  is  itself  an  absolute  proof 
that  the  barometer  stands  higher  at  the  place  from  which 
the  air  spreads  out,  than  it  does  at  the  places  towards  which 
the  air  moves  on  the  same  horizontal  level. 

In  the  torrid  zone  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  barome- 
ter stands  lower  than  it  does  at  the  arctic  circle,  yet  no  one 
who  thinks  will  doubt  that  at  ten  or  fifteen  miles  above  the 
earth's  surface,  the  barometer  would  stand  higher  in  the 
warm  latitude  than  in  the  cold,  because  it  is  farther  to  the 
top  of  the  atmosphere  where  the  air  is  more  expanded  by  heat. 

The  following  chart  and  table  of  barometric  fluctuations, 
are  so  highly  important,  that  I  copy  them  entire,  with  the 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM. 


283 


table  of  latitudes  and  longitudes,  as  a  beautiful  specimen  of 
inductive  philosophy.  Professor  Loomis,  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  this  magnificent  storm,  has  added  another  link  to 
the  long  chain  of  evidence,  that  the  wind  blows  inwards 
towards  the  centre  of  storms,  and  also  that  storms  of  great 
magnitude  in  the  United  States,  have  frequently  the  longest 
diameter  nearly  north  and  south,  and  move  nearly  side  fore- 
most towards  the  east. 

The  simplicity  and  uniformity  of  nature  in  all  her  great 
laws,  lead  us  to  believe  that  there  is  uniformity  and  regular- 
ity in  the  phenomena  of  storms  also.  Let  the  reader  exam- 
ine, in  the  American  Phil.  Transactions,  professor  Loomis's 
original  article  of  which  this  is  a  very  imperfect  abstract, 
and  he  will  see  with  what  wonderful  regularity  the  storm 
travelled  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Atlantic,  and 
how  the  barometer  every  where  rose  in  front  of  the  storm, 
and  sunk  on  its  near  approach,  and  let  him  compare  these 
facts  with  those  detailed  in  other  storms,  both  on  the  east 
and  west  of  the  Atlantic,  and  he  will  perceive  that  a  most 
wonderful  uniformity  seems  to  pervade  the  whole.  (116, 
134,  and  171.) 


6 

1 

1 

o 

6 
1 

i 

3 

'So 

1 

& 

'So 

2 

is 

§ 

b 

fld 

cd 

§ 

S 

J 

•J 

CQ 

J 

CQ 

Indian  Key, 

24°48'N. 

.26  in. 

Twinsburgh, 

41°18/N. 

al°26/ 

.68  in. 

Pensacola, 

30  28 

87°  127 

.46 

New  Haven, 

41  18 

72  58 

.98 

Natchez, 
Savannah, 

31  34 
32    5 

91  24 

81     7 

.79 
.65 

New  Bedford, 
Boston, 

41  38 
42  21 

70  56 
71     4 

1.00 
.92 

Bermuda, 

32  34 

63  28 

.41 

Albany, 

42  39 

73  45 

1.173 

Lexington. 

38    6 

84  18 

.96 

Syracuse, 

43     1 

76  15 

.95 

Washington, 

38  53 

77    2 

.98 

Rochester, 

43    8 

77  51 

1.03 

Baltimore, 

39  17 

76  36 

1.02 

Hanover, 

43  41 

72  22 

1.14 

Marietta, 

39  25 

81  36 

.98 

Gardiner. 

44  10 

69  50 

1.  00 

Springfield, 

39  53 

83  48 

1.00 

Halifax, 

44  39 

63  36 

.52 

Philadelphia, 

39  57 

75  11 

.97 

Montreal, 

45  31 

73  35 

1  .266 

New  York, 

40  43 

74     1 

.97 

Quebec, 

46  49 

71   16 

157 

Flushing, 

40  45 

73  52 

1.042 

St.  Johns, 

47  34 

52  38 

.85 

Sunbury, 

40  53 

76  50 

1.00 

I  have  copied  from  Professor  Loomis  a  chart  of  the  fluc- 
tuations of  the  barometer  in  this  storm,  and  the  reader  will 


284 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


perceive  that  the  minimum  occurred  every  where  on  the 
same  meridian,  in  the  north,  sooner  than  in  the  south,  show- 
ing that  tHe  fluctuation  travelled  towards  the  east  of  south. 

Dec.  19.        Dec.  20.        Dec.  21.         Dec.  22. 

Natchez 


~'-Pensacola 

Lexington 

Springfield 

Marietta 


19th.  at  10.  A.M. 
30.82 


New  Haven 

Dec.  23. 
Jloston 

Bedford 


Twinsburgh 
Savannah 
Indian  Key 

Rochester 
Syracuse 

Suribury 
Washington 

Baltimore 
Montreal 

Philadelphia 

itbany 
Xew  York 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S   STORM.  .      285 

Professor  Loomis  says  in  regard  to  this  table  :  "  It  will  be 
observed  that  the  range  of  the  barometer  increases  generally 
with  the  latitude."  This  is  one  circumstance  which  ren- 
ders it  highly  probable  that  the  storm  extended  to  a  great 
distance  farther  north  than  the  most  northern  observations. 
Another  circumstance  which  favors  this  conclusion,  and  in- 
deed renders  it  almost  certain,  is,  that  the  wind  every  where 
changed  round  by  the  south  to  west  and  north  west,  as  the 
storrn  passed  on. 

Professor  Loomis  thinks  this  storm  moved  towards  the  east. 
The  barometric  minimum,  however,  travelled  from  the  W.  N. 
W.  to  the  E.  S.  E.  and  it  is  therefore  highly  probable,  that 
the  storm  itself  travelled  in  the  same  direction.  Its  velocity 
of  motion  in  the  middle  States  was  about  25  or  30  miles  an 
hour,  for  it  moved  from  Springfield,  Ohio,  to  Washington 
City  in  twelve  hours,  and  to  Philadelphia  in  fourteen  hours. 

Its  motion  seems  to  have  been  slower  when  it  reached  the 
British  dominions,  for  it  was  twenty  hours  in  passing  from 
Quebec  to  Halifax,  a  distance  of  only  about  400  miles.  The 
mean  velocity  from  W.  N.  W.  to  E.  S.  E.  was  not  greater 
than  25  miles  ;  and  as  the  velocity  of  the  N.  W.  wind  was 
certainly  not  less  than  forty  miles,  from  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  generally  characterized  "  violent  gale,3'  &c.  it  follows 
that  much  of  this  N.  W.  current  rose  on  meeting  the  S.  E. 
current  in  the  middle  of  the  storm ;  for  if  none  of  it  had 
ascended,  the  storm  would  have  moved  towards  the  S.  E. 
at  least  forty  miles  an  hour.  Professor  Loomis's  view,  there- 
fore, that  the  N.  W.  wind  flowed  under  the  S.  PI,  is  not  en- 
tirely correct ;  for  about  one  fourth  as  much  of  the  N.  W. 
current  ascended  as  of  theS.  E.,  and  on  ascending  it  would 
spread  outwards  above  from  the  expansion  produced  by  the 
latent  heat  evolved  during  the  formation  of  cloud;  but  it 
would  be  driven  chiefly  towards  the  eastward,  or  north  east- 
ward by  the  upper  current  of  the  atmosphere,  which  moves 
over  the  United  States  generally  in  that  direction. 


286  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  barometer  stood  uncommonly  high  just  before  and  just 
after  this  storm.  On  the  19th,  at  2,  P.  M.,  the  barometer 
at  Philadelphia  is  marked,  in  my  journal,  maximum  30.73, 
and  on  the  22d,  at  7,  A.  M.,  it  had  risen  again  to  30.61  — 
the  minimum  is  not  marked,  but  on  21st,  at  7,  A.  M.,  it 
stood  at  29.65.  These  maxima  were  produced  by  the  out- 
spreading of  the  air  in  the  upper  regions  from  the  centre  of 
the  storm.  The  formation  of  cloud  enough  to  make  one 
inch  of  rain,  would  give  out  latent  caloric  sufficient  to  ex- 
pand the  air  in  the  region  where  the  cloud  was  formed, 
about  one  forty-eighth  of  its  whole  bulk,  and  cause  the  at- 
mospheric column  to  be  at  least  a  mile  higher  in  the  centre 
of  the  storm  than  at  some  distance  from  its  borders,  provi- 
ded the  expansion  took  place  only  upwards  :  but  this  it 
could  not  do.  Part  of  it  would  plainly  spread  outwards, 
and  thus  cause  the  barometer  to  rise  on  the  outside  of  the 
cloud,  at  the  same  moment  that  it  fell  under  the  middle  of 
it.  A  most  conclusive  proof  that  this  was  the  case  will  be 
found  in  this  :  the  barometer  rose  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th,  0.08  of  an  inch  at  Philadelphia,  from  30.65  to  30.73, 
and  yet  the  wind  at  that  time,  in  most  of  the  eastern  States, 
was  westwardly,  and  at  most  of  the  western  forts  it  was  east- 
erly ;  at  Philadelphia  it  was  nearly  calm.  Now  these  cur- 
rents below,  blowing  both  ways  from  Philadelphia,  certainly 
tended  to  make  the  barometer  fall  there.  The  conclusion 
is,  that  the  supply  of  air  was  from  above. 

As  to  the  possibility  of  a  storm  passing  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, perhaps  Professor  Loomis  is  correct  in  deciding  that 
it  could  not.  And  yet  a  storm  on  the  western  side  might 
probably  be  the  means  of  generating  one  on  the  east  side  in 
the  following  manner.  The  latent  caloric  evolved  by  the 
condensing  vapor  of  the  storm  on  the  west  side,  would 
cause  a  flood  of  air  to  swell  up  and  roll  over  the  mountain 
to  the  east.  The  first  effect  of  this  would  be  to  raise  the 
barometer  on  the  east  side.  This  would  produce  a  western 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM.  287 

wind  east  of  the  mountain.  The  air,  however,  which 
crossed  the  mountain,  containing  in  it  the  latent  caloric 
which  it  had  just  received,  being  at  least  30°  hotter  than 
air  ordinarily  is  at  that  height,  would  not  descend  to  the 
valley  and  be  a  "cold,  dry"  wind,  as  Professor  Loomis 
thinks;  it  would  indeed  be  dry,  if  it  descended,  but  being 
warmer  and  lighter  than  the  air  through  which  it  would 
have  to  pass,  it  would  not  descend  ;  but  flow  off  in  all  di- 
rections towards  the  east,  the  north,  and  the  south.  At  the 
same  time  much  of  the  air  below  would  flow  out  in  the 
same  directions,  and  the  effect  of  this  would  be  to  permit  the 
whole  upper  stratum  of  air  containing  the  latent  caloric  to 
descend  to  a  lower  level  than  it  would  otherwise  have  occu- 
pied. During  this  process  the  annulus  of  the  storm  would 
be  extending  further  and  further  to  the  east  of  the  mountain, 
causing  a  rise  of  the  barometer  under  its  pressure,  and  final- 
ly, on  the  ceasing  of  the  storm  on  the  west  side  of  the  moun- 
tains, the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  within  the  annulus 
would  be  forced  back  towards  the  mountains  j  there  it  would 
ascend,  and  if  it  contained  the  suitable  quantity  of  vapor, 
the  process  of  cloud-forming  would  commence,  and  thus  a 
new  storm  would  be  generated  on  the  east  side  of  the 
mountains. 

If  I  have  not  expressed  the  principle  very  clearly  how  a 
storm  on  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  would  be 
the  means  of  generating  one  on  the  east  side,  let  any  one 
consider  for  himself,  what  would  be  the  result  of  a  column 
of  air  being  expanded  by  heat,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
mountains  till  it  stood  three  or  four  miles  higher,  than  a 
column  on  the  east  side,  and  he  will  perceive,  by  his  own 
intellect,  that  there  is  some  reason  for  the  conclusion  above. 

He  will  readily  see  also,  that  a  wind,  blowing  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains  from  west  to  east,  pioducing  rain  on  the 
west  side,  cannot  become  a  "cold  wind  on  the  east." 

He  might  indeed  conclude,  that  it  would  produce  no  effect 


288  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

on  the  temperature  at  all,  as  it  swims  on  the  top  of  the 
atmosphere;  but  in  this  he  would  be  wrong,  for  it  would 
increase  the  temperature  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  by  its 
radiation.  The  efflux  of  air  above,  from  the  borders  of  a 
great  storm-cloud,  often  produces  an  increase  of  tempera- 
ture below  by 'radiation,  before  the  storm  comes  upon  us,  or 
any  southern  wind.  It  is  a  prevailing  idea,  that  air  does 
not  radiate  caloric.  But  this  cannot  be  true;  for  it  is  the 
upper  regions  of  the  air,  or  at  least  a  considerable  distance 
above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  where  the  latent  caloric  of 
vapor  is  given  out  in  the  formation  of  clouds ;  a  quantity 
sufficient,  in  many  countries  where  sixty  or  eighty  inches 
of  rain  fall,  to  heat  it  in  one  year  six  or  eight  hundred  de- 
grees. All  this  it  must  gradually  part  with,  by  radiation, 
after  each  successive  rain. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  objected,  that  as  the  upper  regions  of 
the  air,  even  in  their  warmest  state,  are  much  colder  than 
the  lower,  they  can  never  be  said  to  warm  the  lower  regions 
by  their  radiation ;  but  this  objection  will  vanish  when  we 
consider  that  the  surface  of  the  earth  would  become  much 
colder  in  a  given  time  by  radiation,  if  it  received  no  heat 
from  the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  and  from  the  ce- 
lestial vault  in  the  evening,  when  the  sun's  rays  are  with- 
drawn. M.  Pouillet  has  made  a  most  ingenious  attempt  by 
means  of  an  Actionometer  of  his  own  invention,  to  ascertain 
approximately,  the  quantity  of  heat  which  is  radiated  from 
the  upper  regions  of  the  air  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
also,  the  quantity  which  is  radiated  from  the  fixed  stars; 
and  if  his  experiments  do  not  settle  the  question,  they  at 
least  prove,  that  the  quantity  of  caloric,  reaching  the  earth 
from  those  two  sources  is  not  inconsiderable,  and  also,  that 
the  upper  regions  of  the  air  cool  many  degrees  during  the 
night, when  they  are  receiving  no  heat  from  the  sun.  A  wide 
field  of  investigation  is  here  laid  open  to  the  future  meteoro- 
logist ;  and  I  would  recommend  to  every  one  who  shall  un- 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM  289 

dertake  to  pursue  this  subject  further,  to  observe  the  effect 
of  the  formation  of  dew  on  the  actinometer,  and  also,  to 
take  into  account  the  latent  caloric  received  in  the  upper 
strata  of  the  atmosphere  during  storms  of  rain  and  snow. 

Much  may  be  learned  on  this  subject  without  an  acti- 
nometer of  M.  Pouillet's  construction,  by  a  continued  series 
of  experiments  of  the  following  nature. 

Place  a  thermometer  on  some  bad  conductor  of  caloric  — 
the  inside  of  a  common  washing  tub,  for  example,  whose 
bottom  is  covered  three  or  four  inches  thick  with  straw,  or 
charcoal,  or  wool,  and  expose  the  whole  so  arranged,  on  the 
grocmd  under  the  open  sky,  free  from  the  radiation  of  sur- 
rounding houses,  and  note  from  hour  to  hour  every  evening, 
the  difference  between  this  thermometer  and  one  swung 
briskly  in  the  air  near  the  tub.1  The  more  the  thermometer 
at  rest  sinks  below  the  one  in  motion,  the  colder  will  it  in- 
dicate the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere  to  be ;  except 
when  dew  is  formed;  when  this  takes  place,  the  further 
depression  of  the  thermometer  at  rest  is  greatly  diminished 
by  the  evolution  of  latent  caloric;  and  this  will  frequently 
happen,  when  there  is  no  dew  formed  on  the  ground  round 
about.2 

May  it  riot  be  possible  that  the  approach  of  a  distant 
storm  might  be  discovered  by  this  means  ? 

The  following  article  appeared  in  the  Philadelphia  Sat- 
urday Courier,  of  March  18th,  1837.  Its  value  is  much 
increased  by  Professor  Loomis's  investigation  of  the  same 
storm. 

Mr.  Editor :  —  On  reading  in  the  London  papers,  recently 
arrived,  the  account  of  the  remarkable  snow  storm  that 
passed  over  England  on  the  24th,  25th,  and  26th  of  Decem- 
ber, my  attention  was  recalled  to  some  circumstances  con- 

1  See  Pouillet's  Elements  of  Physics  and  Meteorology,  third  edition. 

2  If  this  plan  is  inconvenient,  the  thermometer  may  be  laid  on  the  grass,  or 
on  a  board  lying  on  the  ground. 

37 


290  PHILOSOPHY  OF    STORMS. 

nected  with  the  no  less  remarkable  storm  that  traversed 
Pennsylvania  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  and  morning  of 
the  21st  of  the  same  month. 

The  approach  of  that  storm  was  announced  by  the  chair- 
rnan  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Meteorology  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society,  and  the  Franklin  Institute  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, at  their  session  on  Monday  evening,  the  19th  Decem- 
ber. The  substance  of  Mr.  Espy's  communication  was, 
that  on  a  reference  to  the  observations  of  Governeur  Erner- 
sori,  M.  D.,  and  his  own,  it  appeared  that  the  barometer  had 
risen  during  the  last  twenty-four  hours  1.05  of  an  inch ; 
that  it  attained  its  maximum  height  at  seven,  P.  M.,  arid 
was  then,  at  eight,  P.  M.,  beginning  to  descend;  that  such 
a  rise  of  the  barometer  had  not  been  observed  in  the  same 
period  of  time  for  several  years  ;  that  this  and  other  phe- 
nomena noticed  at  the  time  induced  him  to  think  that  we 
were  then  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  annulus  or  border  of  a 
violent  storm ;  that  though  perfectly  clear  and  calm  at  that 
time,  it  was  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  wind  would  set  in 
from  the  east  next  morning ;  that  in  such  a  case  it  would 
be  certain  that  in  twenty-four  hours,  that  is  to  say,  by  the 
evening  of  the  20th,  the  storm  would  reach  this  place,  and 
would  rage  with  a  violence  proportioned  to  the  extraordinary 
rise  of  the  barometer  which  preceded  it ;  that  the  deposit 
of  snow  or  rain,  would,  for  the  same  reason,  be  very  great. 

For  proof  that  the  prediction  was  fully  realized,  1  refer 
you  to  the  account  published  in  the  journals  of  that  date. 
The  wind  changed  to  the  east  next  morning,  the  20th,  and 
the  rain  at  this  place,  and  snow  further  north,  commenced 
falling  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  and  closed  on  the 
morning  of  the  21st.  Serious  damage  was  done  to  the  ship- 
ping in  the  Delaware,  and  at  all  our  north  eastern  ports, 
and  off  the  coast.  At  Buffalo,  the  wind  drove  a  portion  of 
the  water  of  Lake  Erie  into  the  city,  and  it  was  stated  in 'the 
gazettes  of  that  date,  that  a  building  was  set  on  fire  at 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM.  291 

Buffalo  by  the  slacking  of  lime  from  water  driven  eastwa'rd 
by  the  force  of  the  gale. 

Dr.  Franklin  first  ascertained  that  all  storms  travel  to- 
words  the  north  east. 

Mr.  Espy's  researches  led  him  to  believe  that  this  con- 
stancy of  direction  in  this  locality  is  confined  to  our  winter 
storms  and  summer  tornadoes.  He  has  also  found  from  ob- 
servations furnished  by  Professor  Hamilton,  that  in  the 
winter  season,  the  rise  of  the  barometer,  as  well  as  the  pre- 
sence of  the  centre  of  the  storm,  takes  place  at  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  about  twenty-four  hours  earlier  than  at  Phila- 
delphia. 

And  here  I  would  remark,  that  Dr.  Emerson  is  the  first 
observer,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  who  noticed  that 
a  great  rise  of  the  barometer  is  a  prelude  to  a  north  easterly 
storm,  a  conclusion  to  which  Mr.  Espy  has  arrived,  a  priori, 
from  his  theory  of  storms.  This  conclusion  is  in  direct  op- 
position Jo  popular  opinion,  and,  indeed,  to  that  of  most 
philosophers,  who  have  marked  set  fair  on  the  barometer  at 
one  inch  above  the  mean. 

If  I  mistake  not,  Mr.  Espy  has  some  where  stated  in  his 
lectures,  that  remarkable  barometric  fluctuations  were  often 
noticed  to  occur  in  the  winter  season  about  four  or  five  days 
later  at  London  than  here,  indicating  that  the  centre  of  the 
storms  to  which  these  fluctuations  owe  their  origin,  traverse 
three  thousand  miles  of  a  rhomb  line  on  the  earth's  surface 
in  that  period  of  time,  being  at  an  average  rate  of  about 
twenty-two  miles  per  hour. 

If  the  storm  in  Pennsylvania,  of  the  20th  and  21st,  fol- 
lowed such  a  course  at  that  rate,  the  annulus  or  atmos- 
pheric wave  which  caused  the  remarkable  rise  of  the  ba- 
rometer here,  must  have  reached  London  about  the  23d  or 
24th,  and  must  have  been  the  harbinger  of  the  approaching 
storm  at  that  place,  the  violence  of  which  should  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  excess  above  the  mean  of  the  density  of 


292  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  atmospheric  wave  which  preceded  it.  The  storm  lasted 
one  day  at  this  place,  and  three  days  at  London,  showing 
that  its  linear  dimensions  were  three  times  as  great  there  as 
here.  The  middle  of  the  storm,  or  time  of  greatest  depression 
of  the  barometer,  was  during  the  forenoon  of  the  20th,  and 
should  have  been  on  the  25th  or  26th  at  London,  if  these 
two  storms  were  the  same.  Take  from  this  date  a  day  and 
a  half  for  the  semi-duration,  and  twenty-four  hours  for  the 
period  which  the  point  of  greatest  atmospheric  density  pre- 
ceded the  beginning  of  the  snow,  and  we  have  the  23d  for 
the  date  of  the  greatest  rise  of  the  barometer  at  London,  ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Espy's  theory. 

Whether  such  a  rise  and  depression  of  the  barometer  was 
observed  in  London,  or  not,  remains  to  be  learned.  It  is 
by  no  means  improbable,  however,  that  if  observations  in 
the  whole  intermediate  space  on  our  northern  coast,  and  on 
the  Atlantic  ocean,  could  be  obtained,  the  remarkable  storm 
of  the  25th  and  26th  of  December,  would  be  fqjmd  to  be 
the  same,  which  did  so  much  harm  to  the  shipping  in  our 
ports,  and  off  our  coast,  on  the  night  of  the  20th,  and  the 
morning  of  the  21st. 

Should  such  be  found  to  be  the  case,  it  will  then  be  an 
important  subject  of  inquiry,  whether  the  unusual  retarda- 
tion of  our  homeward  bound  vessels  from  Europe  in  De- 
cember, and  the  lateness  of  their  arrival  in  January,  after 
a  passage  of  forty,  and  sometimes  fifty  days,  and,  in  short, 
whether  the  appalling  losses  sustained  by  our  insurance 
offices  at  that  period,  were  not,  in  some  degree,  owing  to 
their  track  being  crossed  by  this  violent  storm,  whose  width 
in  the  direction  of  their  course,  must  have  been  near  fifteen 
hundred  miles.  Should  such  a  circumstance  be  shown  to 
be  probable,  then  would  the  occurrence  of  similar  meteoro- 
logical phenomena  in  the  winter  months  on  land,  be  re- 
garded as  the  prelude  to  similar  disasters  at  sea,  the  fore- 
sight of  the  merchant  and  underwriter,  and  the  protecting 


PROFESSOR  LOOMIS'S  STORM.  293 

hand  of  government,  would  be  directed  to  the  means  of  af- 
fording relief  to  those  vessels  and  crews  at  sea,  which  may 
be  presumed  to  be  in  distress  from  the  perils  which  it  is 
known  they  must  have  encountered. 

My  motive  in  making  this  public  testimonial  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  Mr.  Espy's  announcement  on  the  19th  of  De- 
cember, as  a  practical  illustration  of  his  theory  has  been,  to 
suggest  the  propriety  of  concert  among  observers  in  this 
important  department  of  science,  for  the  purpose  of  learn- 
ing more  fully  the  course  of  storms  and  tornadoes,  in  trav- 
ersing the  earth's  surface. 

Many  observations  important  to  pilots  and  navigators 
might  be  elicited,  on  a  subject  in  which  every  step  of  ad- 
vancement made,  and  every  peril  removed  or  obviated,  is 
fraught  with  the  happiest  consequences  to  society. 

While  engaged  on  this  subject,  it  is  proper  to  mention, 
that  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  science  of  meteorology, 
is  contained  in  a  memoir  on  "  the  Gales  and  Hurricanes  of 
the  Western  Atlantic,7'  published  last  'summer,  by  Mr.  W. 
C.  Redfield,  in  the  transactions  of  the  Naval  Lyceum. 

Yours,  truly,  S.  C.  WALKER. 

P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  been  favored  by 
Dr.  Emerson,  with  the  perusal  of  a  letter  addressed  to  him 
by  his  correspondent,  Mr.  Gardiner,  of  Gardiner,  Maine, 
which  states  that  the  barometer  attained  its  maximum 
height  in  the  afternoon  of  the  20th,  and  its  minimum  at  five, 
P.  M.,  of  the  21st;  that  there  was  a  violent  gale  at  seven, 
A.  M.,  of  the  21st,  and  that  the  rain  commenced  at  ten, 
P.  M.,  same  day.  Thus  the  principal  phases  of  this  storrn 
at  Gardiner,  Maine,  occurred  almost  a  day  later  than  here, 
and  they  furnish  a  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  required 
to  warrant  a  just  and  definite  conclusion,  concerning  the 
identity  of  these  two  storms.  S.  C.  W. 


SECTION  SIXTH. 


BRITISH   STORMS. 

Great  Liverpool  Storm  offtth  and  7th  of  January,  1839. 

171.  THIS  storm,  which  proved  so  destructive  to  life  and 
property,  excited  a  great  deal  of  interest  at  the  time,  and  I 
was  very  desirous  to  collect  authentic  documents  concerning 
the  phenomena  which  attended  it.  Having  failed  to  obtain 
sufficient  data  while  in  this  country  to  enable  me  to  deter- 
mine its  modus  operand^  I  availed  myself  of  the  opportu- 
nity, which  my  visit  to  Europe  in  1840  afforded  me,  to  col- 
lect further  information  on  the  subject ;  and  the  penny  post 
then  enabled  me  to  do  so  without  much  expense  —  a  burden 
which  I  find  intolerable  in  this  country.  I  have  embodied 
all  the  documents  in  the  Appendix,  which  I  have  been  able 
to  collect,  and  to  aid  the  reader  to  understand  the  mat- 
ter at  a  glance,  I  have  exhibited  the  information  concern- 
ing the  winds,  on  the  accompanying  -chart,  with  arrows, 
numbered,  and  a  corresponding  brief  account  of  the  place 
and  direction  of  the  wind  between  10  and  12  o'clock  on  the 
night  of  the  6th.  At  this  time  the  central  line  of  the  storm 
extended  through  the  middle  of  England,  from  N,  N.  E.  to 
S.  S.  W.,  reaching  to  an  unknown  distance  on  the  north 
and  south,  and  from  the  western  coast  of  Ireland  to  the 
eastern  coast  of  Great  Britain.  The  storm  certainly  ex- 
tended on  the  north  to  Sumburg  Head,  Orkney,  as  the  bar- 
ometer there  fell  to  27.25  at  2,  P.  M.  of  the  7th,  and  as  the 


GREAT  LIVERPOOL  STORM.  295 

wind  set  in  there  on  the  6th,  as  it  did  all  over  England, 
from  the  south  east,  it  is  quite  probable  that  Orkney  was 
south  of  the  middle  of  the  storm.  The  greatest  violence  of 
this  storm,  however,  was  felt  through  Ireland  and  the  mid- 
dle of  Great  Britain,  as  it  passed  from  west  to  east,  or  pro- 
bably a  little  to  the  south  of  east.  Indeed  it  is  almost  cer- 
tain, that  the  storm  moved  towards  the  south  of  east,  if  the 
indications  of  the  barometer  are  to  be  relied  on,  for  this  in- 
strument fell  progressively  from  north  of  west  to  south  of 
east.  And  this  accords  with  what  I  have  remarked  in 
many  other  great  fluctuations.  Indeed,  so  uniformly  has 
this  been  the  case,  whenever  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
examining  documents,  that  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  is  a 
general  rule  in  this  latitude. 

By  casting  the  eye  on  the  chart,  the  reader  will  perceive 
there  is  a  general  tendency  of  the  wind  on  the  south  east  of 
a  line  drawn  through  the  middle  of  Great  Britain,  from  Ply- 
month  on  the  south  west,  through  Edinburgh,  towards  that 
line  from  the  south  of  east,  and  on  the  western  side  of  that 
line  there  is  a  general  tendency  of  the  wind  towards  the 
line  from  the  west  and  north  west,  especially  at  remote  dis- 
tances from  the  line,  whilst  near  the  central  line  there  is 
more  irregularity. 

By  examining  all  the  documents,  the  reader  will  also 
learn,  that  there  was  a  considerable  fall  of  snow  and  rain 
near  the  middle  of  Great  Britain  on  the  5th  and  6th  ;  which 
no  doubt  was  the  beginning  of  this  storm,  and  caused  it  to 
be  more  violent  in  this  region  than  it  was  farther  north  and 
farther  south.  The  wind  also  sprung  up  fresh  and  strong, 
on  the  6th,  from  the  south  of  east  in  the  southern  parts  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  about  the  time  that  it  changed 
round  in  the  west  of  Ireland,  and  began  to  blow  a  gale  from 
the  west ;  and  for  many  hours,  in  the  early  part  of  the  night, 
it  was  increasing  on  the  eastern  coast  of  England,  from  the 
east  of  south,  and  at  the  same  time,  on  the  west  of  Ireland, 


296 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


it  was  increasing  to  a  hurricane  from  the  west;  on  the 
south  west  of  Ireland,  from  the  south  west ;  and  on  the 
north  west  of  Ireland,  from  the  north  of  west  and  north  west. 

Chart,  showing  the  course  of  the  Wind  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  an  the 
night  of  the  6th  of  January,  1839,  between  10  and  12  o'clock. 


No. 

1.  Romney.    Strong  S.  E.  at  8,  P.  M. 

2.  London.     Southward  all  night  ;  violent. 

3.  Thwaite.    Strong  S.  S.  E.  from  10  to  12. 

(O.  Whistlecraft.) 

4.  Sou  hwald.     The    Susanna    driven    on 

shore  hy  a  S.  E.  wind  at  8,  1'.  M. 

5.  Birmingham.   Wind  east  of  south,  strung 

till  1  ^  A.  M..  then  strong  west  of  south. 
(Osier's  Anemometic.) 

6.  Manchester.    S.   E.  till  midnight,   very 

strong.     (Narrative,  p.  24.) 

7.  Lerds.    S.  E.  till  midnight,  very  strong, 

then   S.  W.     (Leeds   Intelligencer  of 
12th) 

8.  Bridlington.     Got  round  to  S.  E.  in  the 

night,  and  continued  so  blowing  a  gale 
till  midnight. 

9.  Whitl»y.    S.  hy  E.,  high  wind  at  10£. 

(Henry  Belcher.) 

10.  Berwick.    Changed  from  east  of  south  to 
S.  W.  at  10,  P.  M. 


11.  Edinburgh.    Changed  in  the  night  from 

east,   strong  and    cold,  to  the   west, 
(Edinburgh  Advertiser  of  Jan.  8.) 

12.  Dundee.  '  On   the  night  of  the  6th  and 

day  of  7th,  N.  W.    (S.  M.  G.  of  10th.*) 

13.  Montrose.     On  night  of  6th   and  day  of 

7th,  hurricane.     W.  N.  W- 

14.  Aberdeen.     N.  W.  and  N.  N.  W. 

(G.  Tnnes.) 

15.  Cape  Wrath.     All  Cth  and  7th,  N.  W. 

16.  Scowrie.     Evening  of  6th,  till  12,  N.  W. 

(G.  Ross.) 

17.  Isle  of  Glass.  At  11,  P.  M.,  N.  W.,  Light- 

house. 

18.  Lismore.     On  night  of  6th,  N.  W.  to  N. 

Lighthouse. 

19.  Corsewell.    S.  W.  from  6,  P   M.  till  12. 

Lighthouse. 

20.  Mull  of  Galloway.    S.  till  1£,  A.  M.  of 

7th.    Lighthouse. 


*  S.  M.  G.  means  Shipping  and  Mercantile  Gazette. 


GREAT  LIVERPOOL  STORM.  297 

21.  Calf  of  Man.    S.  S.  W.  till  midnight.  dous   hurricane  ;    wind   commenced 

Lighthouse.  about  4,  P.  M.,  W.  S.  W.,  having  been 

22   Liverpool.    Changed  from  S.  S.  E.,  with  S.  S.  E.  in  morning.    The  clouds  came 

a  calm,  to  S.  W.,  between  11  and  12  ;  fast  from  W.  S.  W.  before  the  wind 

strong  before   change,    violent   after.  commenced. 

(Times  of  13th.)  31.  Cork.    Westerly  at  8,  P.  M.,  and  very 

23.  Swansea.     Changed  in  the  night  from  strong  at  9. 

east  of  S.  to  S.  VV.  32.  Waterford.    S.  W.  early  in  evening. 

24.  Plymouth.    S.  W.  till  12,  strong.  33.  Ship  Doterel,  at  Kings'on,  near  Dublin. 

25.  Strangford.    W.  S.  W.  at  midnight.    (S.  Fresh  gales,  and  cloudy  j  S.  W.  at  8, 

M.  G.  of  llth.)  P.M. 

26.  Londonderry.    N.  W.  at  11,  P.  M.    (S.     34.  Ship  Doterel,  on  her  way  to  Liverpool. 

M.  G.  of  llth.)  Heavy  gales  and  thick  rain,   S.    W. 

27.  Sligo.     W.  N.  VV.  in  the  night.  from  10  till  2,  then  W.  S.  W.,  a  hurri- 

28.  Newport.    W.  N.  W.,  in  the  night  a  hur-  cane.     Very  hard  gale  still  between  6 

ricane.     (S.  M.  G.  of  10th.)  nnd  8,  of  7th.     W.  N.  W. 

29.  Kilrush.    At  10,  P.  M.,  a  complete  gale     35.  Central  line  of  the  storm  at  11,  P.  M.,  of 

from  the  west,  increasing  till  1£,  A.M.,  6th.    This  central  line  moved  towards 

then  violent  W.  S.  W.    Wm. Monday.  the  E.  or  S.  E.    On  next  day  the  wind 

30.  Adare,  near  Limerick.    Clear,  and  heavy  was  westerly  all   over  the  British  Isl- 

gale  from  the  westward  at  9,  P.  M.  ands,  N.  VV.  in  Scotland,  and  S.  W.  in 

increasing  till  midnight,  then  tremen-  the  south  of  England. 

At  this  same  time,  the  wind  in  some  parts  of  the  west  of 
England,  at  Liverpool,  for  instance,  suddenly  ceased  to 
blow  from  the  south  of  east,  and  after  a  short  calm,  came  out 
westwardly,  with  unspeakable  fury.  At  this  time  also,  the 
barometer  was  falling  very  rapidly,  and  though  it  was  clear 
in  the  west  of  Ireland,  immense  quantities  of  rain  were 
falling  near  the  middle  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  The 
barometer,  however,  began  to  rise  in  the  western  parts  of 
Ireland,  while  it  was  yet  falling  with  great  rapidity  in  Eng- 
land, and  its  greatest  depression  at  London  did  not  take 
place  till  many  hours  after  it  occurred  in  Ireland  and  even 
in  Scotland. 

In  one  place,  however,  where  the  island  is  very  narrow, 
the  lowest  depression  of  the  barometer  seerns  to  have  taken 
place  at  the  same  time  on  the  east  and  west  coast  —  at  Edin- 
burgh and  Glasgow  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  particular  remark, 
that  it  was  in  this  region,  where  peculiarly  large  quantities 
of  snow  and  rain  had  been  falling  for  two  or  three  days. 
And  this  seems  to  account  for  the  gathering  in  of  the  winds 
on  the  6th  towards  this  region,  both  from  the  south  east 
and  north  west  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  true,  that  the  wind 
at  several  points  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Britain,  was  north 
westerly  on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  and  at  the  Fern  Islands, 
near  the  eastern  coast,  it  blew  a  hurricane  from  the  north 

38 


298  PHILOSOPHY  Otf  STORMS. 

west.  Yet  this  renders  it  more  remarkable,  that  the  wind 
should  change  round  in  the  evening  to  the  east  at  Edinburgh, 
and  south  of  east  at  various  places  on  the  east  coast  of 
England,  to  meet  a  mighty  hurricane  of  wind  and  rain  from 
the  west  and  north  west,  which,  at  that  very  time,  was  in- 
creasing in  violence  on  the  western  coast. 

The  careful  reader  will  find  many  irregularities,  some  of 
which,  no  doubt,  depend  on  the  dates  not  being  exact,  and 
some  accidental,  as  at  Pladda,  the  barometer  is  stated  to  be 
at  its  minimum  at  four,  P.  M.,  of  7th,  when,  no  doubt,  it 
ought  to  be  four,  A.  M. 

But  great  irregularities  would  be  produced  by  the  renewal 
of  the  storm  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  as  fully  appears  by 
the  account  at  Dunnet  Head,  where  the  barometer,  which 
had  risen  on  the  7th,  from  27.35  to  27.98,  began  to  fall  again 
about  midnight,  and  fell  by  three,  A.  M.,  of  8th,  to  27.65, 
with  a  complete  hurricane  from  the  west,  and  it  continued 
a  hard  gale  all  the  8th,  and  most  of  the  9th,  from  the  north 
west. 

This  renewal  of  the  storm,  on  the  night  of  the  7th,  re- 
minds us  of  the  storm  of  the  15th  December,  1839,  in  the 
United  States,  which  was  renewed  on  the  next  day. 

It  is  also  particularly  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  barome- 
ter exhibited  a  gradual  increase  of  depression  on  the  night 
of  the  6th,  all  the  way  from  London,  along  the  eastern  coast 
of  Great  Britain.  It  was  not  lower  than  29.00,  at  London  ; 
at  Whitby,  it  fell  to  28.40,  at  eight,  A.  M.,  of  7th ;  at  Dim- 
net  Head,  in  north  east  of  Scotland,  it  fell  to  27.35,  at  seven, 
A.  M.,  of  7th ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  wind  on  the 
whole  southern  part  of  the  island,  was  blowing  towards 
the  north,  where  the  barometer  was  very  low. 

172.  It  would  be  highly  interesting  to  know  where  this 
storm  originated.  It  certainly  existed,  though  perhaps 
with  less  violence,  west  of  the  British  islands  on  the  6th. 

There  had  been  rain  or  snow  every  day  from  the  1st  of 


GREAT  LIVERPOOL  STORM.  299 

the  month,  at  Glasgow,  with  the  wind  westerly,  and  yet  on 
the  evening  of  the  6th,  the  wind  changed  round  to  south 
east,  notwithstanding  the  tendency  of  the  wind  to  blow 
from  the  west  after  a  rainy  spell  of  weather.  In  Ireland, 
too,  the  wind  changed  round  to  south  east ;  and  in  one  in- 
stance, Newry,  to  the  north  east,  and  blew  hard  at  the 
beginning  of  the  storm.  So  says  the  Drogheda  Journal  of 
January  8th.  This,  probably,  should  be  south  east.  And 
yet  if  there  was  at  that  time  an  uncommon  violence  of  up- 
ward motion  in  the  air  soiith  west  of  Newry,  the  effect 
would  be  a  violent  north  east  wind  at  Newry. 

At  Drogheda,  the  storm  arose  about  11,  P.  M.,  south  east, 
with  terrific  and  unprecedented  violence.  It  seems  proba- 
ble that  this  is  too  late  an  hour  for  the  south  east  wind  to 
be  blowing ;  for  at  this  time,  according  to  numerous  ac- 
counts, the  wind  in  that  part  of  Ireland  was  at  that  time 
from  the  south  west.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  very  fact  of 
the  wind  every  where  changing  round  from  west  and  north 
west  on  the  6th  in  the  morning,  to  south  of  east  in  the  day 
and  evening,  is  a  proof  that  there  was  a  storm  of  some  vio- 
lence approaching  from  the  west  or  north  west. 

In  fact,  the  Guiana  experienced  a  dreadful  hurricane  nine 
miles  from  Cape  Clear,  the  south  west  of  Ireland,  and  there 
are  other  accounts  of  ships  laboring  in  a  gale,  still  further 
west,  on  that  day. 

There  are  two  reasons  why  the  wind  from  the  eastward 
at  the  beginning  of  the  gale,  should  not  be  as  strong  as  the 
wind  from  the  westward  at  the  end.  First,  the  west  wind 
is  the  natural  wind  of  the  climate  in  Great  Britain,  and  this 
would  tend  to  diminish  its  force  from  the  east  and  increase 
it  from  the  west.  In  the  second  place,  the  storm  was 
greatly  increased  in  violence  on  reaching  the  British  islands, 
and,  therefore,  on  passing  off  to  the  east,  the  violence  of  the 
west  wind  would  be  greatly  augmented  in  pursuing  it. 

Finally,  even  if  I  had  not  been  so  fortunate  as  to  collect 


300  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

any  information  that  the  wind  sprung  up  from  the  eastward 
to  meet  the  approaching  storm,  the  simple  fact  that  the 
storm  began  violently  from  the  westward,  in  Ireland,  six  or 
seven  hours  sooner  than  it  did  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Great 
Britain,  would  be  sufficient  to  prove  that  there  must  have 
been  an  upmoving  current  of  air  between  those  two  places, 
and  that  too  a  very  violent  one,  more  especially  as  there 
was  a  tendency  inwards  from  the  south  west,  on  the  south 
of  Ireland,  and  also  a  tendency  inwards  from  the  north  west 
on  the  north  of  Ireland  ;  therefore,  as  it  did  not  blow  out  at 
the  sides,  it  must  have  ascended  in  the  middle,  and  thus  all 
the  process  of  cloud-forming,  &c.,  by  the  cold  of  diminished 
pressure,  would  be  produced. 

Indeed,  it  must  be  so,  whenever  the  wind  blows  with 
violence,  or  even  moderation.  There  must  be  an  upward 
motion  somewhere,  unless  the  wind  blows  all  round  the 
world  in  that  direction,  or  sweeps  off  in  a  circle  or  out  at 
the  sides. 

In  concluding  these  remarks,  I  beg  the  reader  to  examine 
the  documents  for  himself,  and  he  will  find  many  circum- 
stances, not  noticed  here,  confirming  the  doctrine  that  the 
wind  blows  inwards  on  all  sides  towards  the  centre  of 
storms.  And  especially  let  him  ask  himself  the  reason  why, 
on  the  next  day  when  the  storm  had  passed  off  with  its  centre 
to  the  east  of  Great  Britain,  the  wind  on  the  south  of 
England  was  blowing  hard  all  day  from  the  south  west, 
and  in  Scotland  from  the  north  west,  if  the  doctrine  here 
taught  is  not  true  ?  [For  original  documents  see  Appendix.] 


Storm  of  17th  August,  1840. 

173.  While  I  was  in  England,  in  the  summer  of  1840,  a 
storm  of  some  interest  occurred,  especially  as  it  was  desira- 
ble to  know  how  to  compare  the  phenomena  of  a  summer 


BRITISH  STORMS. 


301 


storm  with  the  one  in  the  winter  of  1839,  which  has  just 
been  investigated. 

All  the  documents  which  I  could  obtain,  not  only  in  the 
region  of  the  storm  and  in  its  borders,  but  to  a  great  distance 
beyond,  are  given  in  the  Appendix.  It  will  be  seen  by 
a  reference  to  them,  that  a  vast  quantity  of  rain  fell  in  the 
region  between  Lismore  light  house  and  Leeds ;  for  at  the 
Mull  of  Galloway,  more  than  two  inches  and  a  half  fell  and 
at  Pladda  light  house,  more  than  two  inches,  and  all  the  ri- 
vers in  that  region,  the  Ayr  and  the  Irwell  for  instance, 
were  raised  to  an  almost  unprecedented  height. 

It  is  true,  there  were  great  rains  all  over  the  United  King- 
dom at  this  time,  but  nothing  to  compare  with  what  fell  in 
this  quarter. 

Chart  showing  the  course  of  the  wind  on  the  morning- of  the  17th  August. 


0.  Workington,  changed  at  10,  A.  M.3  from 

S.  S.  E.  to  N.  N.  W. 

1.  Plymouth,  W.  on  17th,  S.  W.  on  16th. 

2.  Pill-Bristol,  S.  W.,  A.  M. 

3.  London,  southwardly,  on  17th. 

4.  Lynn,  heavy  S.  till  noon,  then  S.  W., 

more  moderate. 


5.  Hull,  S.  S.  W.,  strong. 

6.  Leeds,  S.E.or  S.SE.,  strong  from  8,  A. 

M.,to  1,  P.  M.,  clouds  at  this  time  mov- 
ing from  S.  W. 

7.  Sheffield,  S.  S.  E.  all  day,  next  day,  E» 

Strong  on  17th. 


302  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

8.  Hyde,  near  Manchester,  S.  W.,  in  the     15.  Kyntire  Light,  N.  W.  gale. 

morning  ;  west  in  P.  M.J  strong  gale      16.  Pladda  Light,  N.  VV.  breeze.  . 

all  day,  17.  Greenock,  N.  W.  and  N. 

9.  Liverpool,  S.  W.,  A.  M.,  N.  Westerly,      18.  Lismore  Light,  N.  W.  gale. 

P.  M.,  strong.  19.  Dumferline,  N.  and  N.  £.  till  2,  P.  M.  in- 

10.  Belfast,  N.  by  W.  strong  gale.  < Teasing  to  a  gale. 

11.  Point  of  Ayre  Light,  N.  W.  gale.  20.  Edinburgh,  N.  N.  E.  strong. 

12.  Corsewell  Light,  N.  N.  W.,  storm.  21.  Berwick,  S.  by  E.  to  S.  E.,  strong. 

13.  Dublin,  W.  N.  W.  22.  Aberdeen,  E.  all  day,  strong. 

14.  Largs,  heavy  from  N.  N.  W.  from?,  A.  M.  23.  Middle  line  of  the  storm  on  morning  of 

till  8,  P.  M.  17lh. 

Now  if  the  reader  will  cast  his  eye  on  the  chart  he  will 
perceive  that  there  is  a  tendency  of  the  wind  in  all  the  bor- 
ders of  this  great  rain  to  blow  inwards  to  the  region  where 
the  greatest  quantity  was  falling.  At  greater  distances  from 
this  region,  at  Plymouth  and  London,  for  instance,  there  is 
much  deviation;  but  as  considerable  rain  fell  in  these  locali- 
ties, such  irregularities  are  to  be  expected.  Indeed  the  evi- 
dence of  the  inward  tendency  of  the  wind  towards  great 
rains,  is  very  strong  in  this  storm  when  we  see  it  overcome 
all  irregular  winds  around  its  borders,  whilst  those  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  its  borders,  seem  but  little  affected. 
It  seems  probable  that  this  storm  moved  down  towards  the 
south  east  or  S.  S.  E. ;  for  it  began  in  Scotland,  at  the  head  wa- 
ters of  the  Tay,  in  the  north  west  of  Perthshire,  before  it  did  at 
Perth  in  the  south  east  of  that  shire,  and  at  all  the  northern 
light  houses  there  was  rain  on  the  16th.  At  this  time  the 
weather  was  fine  at  Leeds.  In  the  afternoon,  however,  the 
observer,  Mr.  Marshall,  says,  a  middle  current  commenced 
from  the  south  east,  and  afterwards,  on  the  next  morning, 
the  wind  below  changed  round  to  the  same  direction. 

174.  It  is  worthy  of  particular  remark  that  on  the  16th, 
when  there  was  a  great  rain  in  the  middle  of  Scotland,  the 
wind  at  all  the  light  houses  on  the  south  west  of  Scotland 
was  from  the  south  west;  at  some  of  them  a  gale,  and  at  Edin- 
burgh it  was  south,  increasing  to  a  strong  wind  in  P.  M., 
then  dying  away  and  afterwards  springing  up  strong  next 
morning  N.  N.  E.  at  which  time  it  had  begun  to  rain  vio- 
lently in  a  large  tract  south  west  of  Edinburgh. 

This  circumstance  is  more  remarkable  in  connection  with 
the  fact,  that  about  the  very  time  the  wind  sprung  up  strong 


BRITISH  STORMS.  303 

from  the  N.  N.-E.  at  Edinburgh,  it  sprung  up  violent  from 
N.  N.  W.  at  Largs,  near  Glasgow,  in  the  west  of  Scotland. 
At  this  time,  also,  the  wind  at  all  the  light  houses  in  the 
west  of  Scotland  is  given  north  westerly. 

It  is  quite  certain  from  all  these  facts,  that  the  centre  of 
the  storm  passed  down  from  Scotland  into  England  between 
Edinburgh  and  Largs,  a  town  on  the  west  side  of  Scotland, 
near  Glasgow;  and  all  this  time  as  the  storm  was  passing, 
the  wind  at  Berwick  and  North  Shields,  near  Newcastle, 
on  the  east  coast  of  England  was  changing  round  from  south 
by  east  to  north  east  and  at  all  the  light  houses  in  the  south 
west  of  Scotland,  the  wind,  which  had  been  south  west 
before,  changed  round  to  north  west. 

I  have  an  account  also  in  a  paper,  name  not  known,  that 
the  wind  changed  round  suddenly  at  Workington,  about  the 
centre  of  the  region  towards  which  the  wind  was  blowing 
at  ten,  A.  M.,  attended  with  violent  rain.  The  barometer 
fell  more  than  an  inch,  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  by  exam- 
ining the  documents,  and  stood  much  lower  near  the  region 
where  the  great  rain  fell  than  it  did  at  Belfast,  Cape  Wrath 
and  Aberdeen. 

If  there  was  no  well  authenticated  fact  in  this  whole  in- 
vestigation, but  this  one,  that  during  the  whole  morning 
from  8  A.  M.  till  1,  P.  M.  the  wind  at  Largs  and  at  Leeds,  were 
blowing  at  each  place,  almost  exactly  towards  the  other 
with  violence,  while  a  great  rain  was  falling  between  them, 
in  the  very  region  towards  which  the  wind  was  blowing,  it 
would,  of  itself,  be  worth  all  the  labor  which  I  have  expend- 
ed in  the  investigation  of  this  storm.  Let  the  reader  care- 
fully examine  all  the  facts  for  himself. 


SECTION  SEVENTH. 


OF   THE   TORNADO    OR   WATER-SPOUT. 


Lemma. 

175.  SUPPOSE  a  receiver,  only  a  few  hundred  yards  in 
diameter,  but  so  lofty  that  its  top  would  reach  to  where  the 
barometer  would  stand  at  10  inches,  and  that  it  contained 


air  about  25|°,  for  example,  hotter  than  the  air  on  the  out- 
side, this  latter  being  at  a  mean,  32°.  The  column  of  air 
then  in  the  inside  of  the  receiver  would  be  expanded  of 


OF  THE  TORNADO  OR  WATER  SPOUT.  305 

the  whole,  or  one-twentieth  of  the  whole  bulk.  Now  as  the 
air  on  the  outside  of  the  receiver,  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth  to  the  top  of  the  receiver,  weighs  20  inches  of  mer- 
cury, the  air  on  the  inside  will  weigh  only  19  inches  of 
mercury,  and  of  course  it  will  be  pressed  upwards  against 
the  upper  end  of  the  receiver  at  a,  with  a  force  of  about 
half  a  pound  on  the  square  inch,  the  bottom  of  the  receiver 
being  open  at  c. 

Also,  if  a  barometer  should  be  placed  in  the  inside  of  the 
receiver  at  the  top  a,  it  would  stand  an  inch  higher  than 
one  on  the  outside  at  the  same  height ;  therefore  if  a  small 
hole  should  be  made  in  the  top  of  the  receiver  the  air 
would  spout  out  with  a  velocity  due  to  a  head  of  pressure 
equal  to  one  inch  of  mercury.  This  is  equal  in  weight  to 
about  900  feet  of  air  of  mean  density  at  the  earth's  surface. 
The  velocity  with  which  it  would  spout  on  supposition  of 
its  having  this  density  will  be  found  by  the  common  for- 
mula for  spouting  fluids  Sy'yOO '  =  240  feet  per  second. 
But  the  air  at  the  top  of  the  receiver  is  only  about  one  third 
the  density  of  that  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  provided  no 
allowance  is  made  for  temperature ;  and  as  the  velocity  of 
spouting  fluids  under  equal  pressure  is  inversely  as  the 
square  root  of  their  densities,  the  real  velocity  with  which 
the  air  will  spout  out  at  the  top  of  the  receiver  will  be 
240X^=415  feet  per  second. 

If  now  we  suppose  the  whole  top  of  the  receiver  to  be 
taken  off,  the  velocity  will  be  the  same,  if  there  is  no  fric- 
tion up  the  sides  of  the  receiver,  and  the  air  gets  freely  in 
at  the  bottom,  an  allowance  of  course  being  made  for  the 
reaction  of  the  air  in  the  upper  part  of  the  receiver  on  the 
air  below,  in  consequence  of  the  velocity  increasing  all  the 
way  up. 

This  is  a  case,  however,  which  could  not  occur,  for  there 
would  be  friction,  and  the  present  state  of  science  does  not 
enable  us  to  estimate  its  amount. 

39 


306  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

If,  however,  we  place  our  barometer  in  the  lower  end  of 
the  receiver,  and  ascertain  its  fall  there,  it  will  give  us  the 
actual  velocity  of  the  air  upwards,  free  from  friction,  and 
from  the  reaction  of  the  air  downwards,  as  it  increases  in 
velocity  in  its  upward  motion.  And  in  this  case,  too,  the 
power  of  the  air  to  carry  up  heavy  bodies  will  be  the  same 
in  every  part  of  the  receiver,  if  it  is  cylindrical,  for  the 
velocity  increases  in  exact  proportion  to  its  rarefaction. 
For  example,  if  the  barometer  falls  an  inch  on  being  placed 
in  the  receiver  at  its  base,  the  air  will  rush  up  there  with  a 
velocity  of  240  feet  a  second,  and  at  the  top  of  the  receiver, 
being  only  one-third  the  specific  gravity  which  it  had  be- 
low, it  will  move  with  three  times  that  velocity,  or  720 
feet  per  second.  Now  this  velocity  would  be  sufficient  to 
carry  up  heavy  bodies  of  considerable  size,  and  throw  them 
out  at  the  top  of  the  receiver,  masses  of  ice,  for  instance,  as 
large  as  a  man's  head. 

If,  however,  we  conceive  holes  of  considerable  magnitude 
made  in  the  sides  of  the  receiver,  at  some  distance  from  its 
top,  it  will  be  manifest,  that  bodies  might  be  carried  up  to 
these  holes,  which  could  not  be  carried  up  beyond  them ; 
for  so  much  of  the  air  would  escape  through  these  .holes, 
that  the  velocity  of  the  current  above  them  would  be  much 
diminished.  And  thus  these  masses  might  play  about  near 
these  holes,  without  ascending  much  above  them,  or  de- 
scending much  below  them.  Moreover,  if  the  masses 
should  increase  so  much  in  number  or  size  that  the  current 
of  air  even  below  the  holes  could  no  longer  sustain  them, 
they  would  begin  to  descend  ;  and  if  their  cooling  effect  on 
the  air  below  should  be  very  great,  they  might,  partly  by 
their  weight,  and  partly  by  their  cooling  influence,  change 
the  current,  and  cause  it  to  move  downwards  and  outwards 
below. 

During  this  operation  the  barometer  at  a  would  stand  a 
little  higher  than  one  on  the  same  horizontal  level  at  some 


OF  THE  TORNADO  OR  WATER  SPOUT.  307 

distance  from  the  npmoving  current,  notwithstanding  it  is 
in  the  midst  of  an  npmoving  current,  which,  it  is  generally 
supposed,  has  a  tendency  to  cause  a  fall  in  the  barometer. 
At  the  surface  of  the  earth,  ihe  fall  of  the  barometer,  and  an 
upmoving  current  of  air,  are  simultaneous  effects  of  the 
same  cause,  a  diminution  of  weight  of  the  whole  column  of 
atmosphere  to  the  top  ;  but  the  quantity  of  atmosphere  over 
a  will  be  greater  because  it  is  swelled  up  over  a  to  the 
very  top  of  the  atmosphere,  and  of  course  runs  outwards 
in  all  directions  from  a. 

Again,  if,  instead  of  making  holes  in  the  receiver,  we 
remove  the  entire  sides,  it  is  manifest  that  the  heated 
column  of  air,  which  we  suppose  to  be  the  same  as  before, 
would  spread  out  laterally  in  ascending,  in  the  form  of  an 
inverted  cone,  or  mushroom,  as  exhibited  by  the  dotted 
lines  p:  5,  ra,  e.  And  this  spreading  out  would  take  place 
sooner,  and  be  more  flaring,  if  heavy  bodies  were  carried 
up  in  the  middle  of  the  ascending  column.  But  still,  as 
long  as  the  barometer  indicated  a  depression  of  one  inch  in 
the  middle  of  the  base  of  the  upmoving  column,  the  velocity 
with  which  the  air  would  move  upwards  there  would  be 
240  feet  per  second. 

When  the  air  near  the  surface  of  the  earth  becomes  very 
much  heated  or  very  highly  charged  with  aqueous  vapor, 
such  an  ascending  column  as  is  here  imagined  may  actually 
take  place,  and  be  kept  up  for  a  long  time.  The  difference 
of  temperature  of  the  ascending  column  and  that  of  the  at- 
mosphere through  which  it  passes  may  be  much  greater 
than  that  here  supposed,  partly  caused  by  its  greater  tem- 
perature below ;  but  chiefly  from  the  great  quantity  of 
latent  caloric  evolved  by  the  condensation  of  vapor  into 
cloud. 

It  becomes  then  a  matter  of  high  interest  to  calculate  the 
shape  of  such  an  ascending  current,  and  its  specific  gravity 
when  compared  to  that  of  the  surrounding  air  through  which 


308  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

it  passes,  and  thus  to  know  how  much  the  barometer  will 
fall  under  the  centre  of  the.  ascending  column,  and  how  much 
it  will  rise  all  round  the  column  by  the  rapid  outspreading 
of  the  air  above.  Data  for  making  these  several  calcula- 
tions are  known  proximately,  and  may  be  stated  very  briefly 
as  follows. 

1.  The  decrease  of  temperature  in  ascending  in  the  at- 
mosphere. 

2.  The  diminution  of  pressure  which  the  ascending  cur- 
rent experiences  at  all  heights  in  its  ascent. 

3.  The  degree  of  cold  produced  by  that  diminished  pressure. 

4.  The  quantity  of  vapor  in  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  from  which  the  npmoving  column  is  supplied. 

5.  The  number  of  degrees  the  dew  point  is  below  the 
temperature  of  the  air  at  the  time. 

6.  The  height  to  which  the  air  will  ascend  before  it  be- 
gins to  form  cloud  from  the  cold  of  diminished  pressure. 

7.  The  quantity  of  vapor  which  will  be  condensed  by 
this  cold,  at  all  heights  to  which  the  current  ascends. 

8.  The  quantity  of  latent  caloric  of  elasticity  evolved  by 
the  vapor  thus  condensed. 

9.  The  quantity  of  latent  caloric  of  fluidity  evolved  by 
the  vapor  thus  condensed  in  case  of  hail  or  snow. 

10.  The  specific  caloric  of  air  at  different  densities. 

11.  The  number  of  degrees  the  air  would  be  heated,  or 
rather  prevented  from  being  cooled,  in  its  upward  motion, 
by  the  caloric  of  elasticity,  and  caloric  of  fluidity  thus  given 
out. 

12.  The  diminution   of  the   specific  gravity  of  the  air 
in  the  cloud,   produced   by  the   evolution  of  this  latent 
caloric. 

13.  The  height  to  which  the  air  will  ascend  before  all 
the  vapor  is  condensed  which  can  be  condensed  by  the  cold 
of  diminished  pressure. 

14.  The  quantity  of  space  left  unoccupied  by  the  con- 


THE  BRUNSWICK  LAND  SPOUT.  309 

densed  vapor,  and  the  increase  of  the  specific  gravity  of  the 
cloud  on  that  account. 

15.  The  diminution  of  specific  gravity  in  the  cloud,  on 
account  of  the  higher  dew  point  there  than  in  the  surround- 
ing air. 

16.  The  increase  of  the  specific  gravity  of  the  cloud  from 
the  quantity  of  water  it  contains,  formed  out  of  the  con- 
densed vapor. 

From  these  data,  a  general  formula  for  the  specific  gravity 
of  any  cloud  formed  under  given  circumstances  may  be  in- 
vestigated, and  the  dynamics  of  the  air  may  thus  be  brought 
under  the  dominion  of  mathematics.  The  problem  is  com- 
mended to  the  notice  of  the  profound  analysts. 

This  lemma  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand  the 
manner  in  which  I  conceive  the  air  to  rise  in  tornadoes  or 
water  spouts,  which  I  now  proceed  to  investigate. 

The  Brunswick  Land  Spout. 

176.  In  perusing  the  phenomena  attending  this  tornado 
or  land  spout,  let  the  reader  bear  in  mind  the  following 
principles,  and  he  will  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding 
not  only  all  the  facts  detailed,  but  how  the  mighty  power 
was  generated,  and  continued  so  long  undiminished,  not- 
withstanding the  amazing  resistance  to  the  motion  of  the  air 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth  presented  at  every  moment  by 
the  trees  and  houses  overturned. 

The  reader  will  find  abundant  proof  in  the  subsequent 
details  that  the  air  went  up  in  the  middle  of  the  spout  with 
great  velocity.  Now,  air  cannot  go  up  without  expanding 
from  diminished  pressure ;  it  cannot  expand  without  becom- 
ing colder ;  it  cannot  sink  in  temperature  below  the  dew 
point  without  condensing  some  of  its  vapor;  it  cannot  con- 
dense its  vapor  without  giving  out  the  caloric  of  elasticity; 
it  cannot  give  out  the  caloric  of  elasticity  without  expand- 


310  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

ing  the  air  in  which  the  vapor  is  condensed  into  water, 
about  seven  thousand  cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot  of 
water  thus  generated.  And  if  the  drops  of  rain  are  con- 
gealed, the  caloric  of  fluidity  ^volved  will  expand  the  air 
about  one  thousand  cubic  feet  more.  Thus  an  upmoving 
column  of  air  mingled  with  vapor  becomes  a  mighty  steam 
power,  which  may  be  calculated  like  any  other  steam  power, 
if  the  tension  of  steam  in  the  atmosphere,  and  the  height  of 
the  cloud  from  its  base  is  given ;  for  these  two  being  given, 
the  quantity  of  vapor  condensed  can  be  calculated. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  what  the  dew  point  was  at 
Brunswick,  on  the  day  of  the  spout,  but  at  Philadelphia  it 
was  71°,  and  the  temperature  of  the  air  was82°  at  three  o'clock. 

If  we  assume  that  the  dew  point  at  the  spout  was  71°, 
and  the  temperature  of  the  air  79°,  from  the  principles  ex- 
plained, when  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  first  com- 
menced its  motion  upwards  in  the  form  of  a  column,  it 
would  have  to  rise  eight  hundred  yards  before  the  upper 
end  would,  by  the  cold  of  expansion,  begin  to  condense  its 
vapor  into  cloud.  And  this  would  be  the  height  of  the  base 
of  the  cloud  to  which  the  spout  belonged,  at  the  moment  of 
its  first  formation. 

But  as  the  cloud  increased  in  height  above,  the  air  below 
the  cloud  would  be  pressed  less  and  less  by  the  superin- 
cumbent weight,  and  thus  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth 
would  begin  to  condense  its  vapor  before  it  ascended  eight 
hundred  yards,  and,  therefore,  the  base  of  the  cloud  would 
seem  to  descend.  And  if  the  cloud  above  became  so  lofty 
arid  so  light  that  the  barometer  sunk  two  inches  underneath 
it,  the  visible  spout  or  cloud  would  reach  the  earth ;  the  air 
under  the  cloud  would  be  cooled  8°,  by  expansion.  And 
inversely  as  the  cloud  in  this  case  did  reach  the  earth,  the 
barometer  did  fall  two  inches.  Two  inches  of  mercury  is 
equal  to  about  eighteen  hundred  feet  of  air  in  perpendicular 
height,  and  this  is  the  diminished  head  of  pressure  in  the 


THE  BRUNSWICK  LAND  SPOUT.  311 

inside  of  the  spout  at  the  surface  of  the  earth ;  and  it  is 
known  by  mechanics,  that  the  velocity  of  the  air  in  the 
spout  upwards,  would,  in  this  case,  be  y'ISOO  X  8  =  340 
feet  per  second,  or  about  one  pound  on  the  under  surface 
of  bodies  carried  up,  per  square  inch.  Indeed,  the  force 
would  be  something  greater  than  this,  because  the  barome- 
ter would  rise  a  little  above  the  mean,  at  some  distance  from 
the  spout,  on  account  of  the  outspreading  of  the  air  above 
in  an  annulus,  and  thus  increase  the  quantity  of  gravitat- 
ing matter  at  a  small  distance  from  the  spout — a  distance 
which  I  am  not  able  at  present  to  calculate,  but  evidently 
not  great,  as  there  is  known  to  be  a  calm  all  round  a  tor- 
nado, within  a  few  hundred  yards. 

The  reader  will  now  be  able  easily  to  comprehend  all  the 
facts  about  to  be  detailed,  and  also  perceive  that  they  are  a 
true  experimentum  crucis,  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  theory 
advocated  in  this  work. 

I  should  long  ere  this,  have  laid  these  facts,  so  far  as  col- 
lected by  me,  before  the  public  ;  but  they  are  so  remarkable 
and  so  conclusive  in  favor  of  my  theory,  that  I  feared  there 
might  be  some  suspicion  excited  in  the  mind  of  the  reader, 
that  they  were  colored  to  suit  my  own  views.  This  evil  I 
knew  could  be  entirely  avoided,  by  waiting  till  Professors 
Johnson,  Henry  and  Bache,  should  hand  in  their  testimony, 
which  I  knew  would  be  perfectly  conclusive  on  the  subject. 

The  following  is  an  extract  of  a  paper  read  by  Professor 
W.  R.  Johnson,  before  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  21st  February,  1837. 

176.  a.  Considered  as  a  meteorological  phenomenon,  the 
calamity  which,  on  the  19th  of  June,  1835,  desolated  a  part 
of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  ir>  New  Jersey,  is  worthy  of 
the  most  attentive  investigation.  In  connection  with  the 
accompanying  sudden,  and  singular  changes  of  tempera- 
ture, and  moisture  in  the  air,  it  may  serve  to  illustrate  the 


312  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

caus3s  of  those  occurrences  which,  sometimes  in  our  own 
climate  —  and  more  frequently  in  tropical  regions  —  display 
effects  which  have  hitherto  perplexed  the  minds  of  the  most 
acute  observers.  All  accounts  concur  in  representing  the 
air  of  the  morning,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  day  up  to  the 
time  of  the  tornado,  as  unusually  sultry.  This  was  ob- 
served between  the  hours  of  two  and  four,  P.  M.,  in  a  ride 
from  Hightstown  to  Princeton,  a  distance  of  about  nine 
miles ;  also,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  on  the  voyage 
from  the  latter  city  to  New  Brunswick.  At  four  o'clock, 
the  sun  was  still  unobscured  at  Princeton ;  but  within  half 
an  hour,  a  cloud  from  the  north  west  had  reached  that  place, 
and  a  shower  of  rain,  accompanied  by  a  brisk  wind  from 
the  south  west,  had  commenced.  Before  five  o'clock,  the 
rain  had  ceased,  and  the  air  was  less  oppressive.  The 
evening  continued  tranquil  until  ten  o'clock,  when  another 
shower  of  rain  fell,  accompanied  by  some  wind  ;  but  within 
half  an  hour,  the  sky  was  once  more  cloudless,  and  the 
wind  began  to  rise  with  much  force,  from  the  west  or  north 
west,  and  from  twelve  at  night  to  five  next  morning,  it  was 
boisterous. 

Intelligence  of  the  occurrences  at  New  Brunswick  hav- 
ing been  received  during  the  forenoon,  it  was  resolved  to 
visit  the  spot,  and  endeavor  to  ascertain,  by  observation 
and  inquiry,  while  the  traces  were  yet  unobliterated,  such 
facts  as  might  explain  the  mode  of  action  by  which  the  de- 
vastation hai  1  een  effected.  On  arriving  within  six  miles 
of  New  Brunswick,  on  the  old  turnpike  road,  we1  were 
informed  by  an  eye-witness,  that  it  had  been  seen  about  a 
mile  and  a  Lalf  north  easterly  from  that  point;  and  that 
the  dense  black  cloud  was,  by  the  junior  observers,  conceived 

1  In  this  excursion,  and  the  subsequent  inquiries,  the  writer  was  accompa- 
nied and  aided  by  his  friend  Professr  r  Joseph  Henry  ;  who  is  to  be  consid- 
ered as  entitled  to  a  full  share  of  whatever  credit  may  attach  to  the  observa- 
tions referred  to  in  this  paper. 


THE  BRUNSWICK  LAND  SPOUT.  313 

to  be  filled  with  crows,  —  an  appearance  afterwards  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  shingles,  boards,  (fee.,  had  been  car- 
ried upward  by  the  tempest  from  buildings  destroyed  in  that 
vicinity. 

On  reaching  the  height  of  land,  at  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  dense  portion  of  the  city,  the  first  buildings  which  had 
been  damaged  by  the  tornado  were  passed.  A  bam  had 
been  completely  demolished,  and  most  of  the  lighter  mate- 
rials scattered  to  a  great  distance.  The  house  was  not 
thrown  down,  but  left  leaning,  with  no  part  of  the  roof  re- 
maining, except  some  of  the  rafters  ;  and  the  fact  here  wit- 
nessed was  repeatedly  observed  in  the  town  below,  where 
several  houses,  within  the  path  of  the  tornado,  were  de- 
prived of  their  shingles,  and  the  ribs  which  had  held  them 
to  the  rafters  :  but  the  latter  still  continued  partially  or  en- 
tirely undisturbed.  In  a  few  cases,  in  which  the  ridge  of  a 
building  lay  in  a  northerly  and  southerly  position,  the  eastern 
slope  of  roof  was  observed  to  be  removed,  or  at  least  stripped  of 
its  shingles,  while  the  western  slope  remained  entire.  Many 
buildings  were  likewise  observed  with  holes  in  their  roofs, 
whether  shingled  or  tiled,  but  otherwise  not  much  damaged, 
unless  by  the  demolition  of  windows.  These  appearances 
clearly  demonstrated  the  strong  upward  tendency  of  the 
forces  by  which  they  were  produced,  while  the  half  un- 
roofed houses,  already  mentioned,  prove  that  the  resultant 
of  all  the  forces  in  action  at  the  moment  was  not  in  a  per- 
pendicular to  the  horizon,  but  inclined  to  the  east.  Such  a 
force  would  apply  to  the  western  slope  of  the  roof  some 
counteracting  tendency,  or  relieve  it  from  some  portion  of 
the  upward  pressure.  Had  there  been  no  other  facts  to 
show  the  powerful  rushing  of  currents  upward,  the  above 
would,  it  is  conceived,  have  been  sufficient  to  settle  the 
question,  but  taken  in  connection  with  the  circumstance 
that  roofs  so  removed,  were  carried  to  a  great  height,  and 
their  fragments  distributed  over  a  large  extent  along  the 

40 


314  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

subsequent  path  of  the  storm,  that  beds  and  other  furniture 
were  taken  out  of  the  upper  stories  of  unroofed  houses, 
that  persons  were  lifted  from  their  feet  or  dashed  upward 
against  walls;  and  that  in  one  instance,  a  lad  of  eight  or 
nine  years  old,  was  carried  upward  and  onward  with  the 
wind,  a  distance  of  several  hundred  yards ;  and  particu- 
larly that  he  afterwards  descended  in  safety,  being  pre- 
vented from  a  violent  fall  by  the  upward  forces,  within  the 
range  of  which  he  still  continued.  In  connection  with 
these  and  similar  facts,  it  seems  impossible  to  doubt  that 
the  greatest  violence  of  action  was  in  an  upward  and  east- 
erly direction. 

The  next  point  to  which  attention  was  called  by  the  ap- 
pearances around,  was  the  manner  in  which  this  upward 
current  had  been  supplied  from  below;  and  for  the  solu- 
tion of  this  question,  it  was  necessary  to  compare  objects 
throughout  the  whole  breadth  of  the  track  left  by  the  storm. 
Apeach  orchard,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  descending  to  the 
town,  gave  the  first  indication  in  regard  to  this  matter,  but 
the  larger  fruit  and  ornamental  trees,  in  the  gardens  of  Dr. 
Jane  way,  Messrs.  Kirkpatrick  and  others,  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  together  with  an  inspection  of  the  forest  on 
the  east  side  of  the  river,  showed  conclusively  that  on  the 
extreme  borders  of  the  track  the  forces  were  nearly,  or 
quite  at  right  angles  to  its  general  direction.  Uprooted 
trees  along  the  southern  border  lay  with  their  tops  towards 
the  north ;  those  on  the  northern  border  to  the  south,  thus 
pointing  to  a  common  object  in  the  central  line  of  the  cur- 
rent. From  the  outer  edges,  however,  toward  this  central 
line,  the  trees  were  observed  on  both  sides  to  have  a  grad- 
ually increasing  inclination  towards  the  east,  and  in  the 
middle  to  be  entirely  in  that,  as  a  general  direction.  I  do 
not  recollect  to  have  encountered  a  single  case  in  which  the 
top  of  a  tree,  with  its  roots  in  the  ground,  was  lying  towards 
the  west,  though  I  cannot  say  that  none  occurred,  for  among 


THE  BRUNSWICK  LAND  SPOUT.  315 

the  houses  and  other  obstacles  within  the  city,  presenting 
different  degrees  of  resistance  to  the  lateral  currents,  there 
may  very  probably  be  some  points  in  which  great  violence 
was  exerted  in  directions  varying  from  the  general  course 
of  action.  None  were  seen  with  the  tops  from  the  centre 
of  the  path.  Another  fact  to  this  point  is,  that  Dr.  Jane- 
way's  barn,  a  frame  building,  which  was  on  the  southerly 
part  of  the  track,  was  unroofed,  and  the  remaining  part  of 
the  structure,  with  its  contents,  removed  bodily  three  or 
four  feet  to  the  northward.  All  the  herbage,  shrubs  and 
trees  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  arid  the  trees  of  Kirkpatrick's 
garden,  were  found  lying  with  their  heads  in  a  northerly  or 
northeasterly  direction.  Similar  to  the  case  of  the  barn  just 
mentioned,  was  that  of  Bishop's  store,  near  the  river,  which, 
standing  on  the  northern  border,  had  been  lifted  from  its 
foundation  about  four  or  five  feet  towards  the  south.  A 
row  of  poplar  trees  which  had  been  prostrated  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  city,  and  on  the  northern  part  of  the  path  was 
observed  as  a  striking  exemplification  of  the  application  of 
lateral  force,  every  tree  taking  in  its  fall  a  southerly  direc- 
tion. Another  evidence  of  lateral  inward  currents,  was 
found  in  the  appearance  of  many  forest  trees,  east  of  the 
river,  which,  though  too  far  removed  from  the  central  line 
of  the  path  to  be  uprooted,  were  still  so  much  within  the 
range  of  the  lateral  forces  as  to  have  their  outside  limbs,  or 
those  most  remote  from  the  central  line,  broken  off  by  the 
effect  of  cross  strain;  while  no  similar  fracture  was  seen  on 
limbs  turned  towards  the  centre  of  the  path.  This  result 
will  be  easily  understood,  when  we  consider  the  well  known 
difference  between  breaking  a  limb  by  cross  strain  and  that 
of  drawing  it  asunder  by  simple  longitudinal  tension. 

Another  fact  indicative  of  the  direction  of  currents  from 
the  sides  inward,  was  noticed  on  the  plain,  east  of  the  Rar- 
itan,  where  the  fragments  of  boards,  shingles,  ribs,  &c., 
which  had  been  brought  from  houses  demolished  in  the  city, 


316  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

were  seen  to  be  arranged  on  the  ground  with  some  irregu- 
larity, certainly,  but  with  far  greater  conformity  of  position 
than  we  could  have  anticipated.  Their  longitudinal  direc- 
tion was  generally  towards  the  central  line,  and  also  to- 
wards the  point  to  which  the  storm  was  moving.  Many  of 
these  were  found  far  beyond  the  belt  of  ground  on  which 
the  violence  of  the  wind  had  been  exerted.  Their  position 
may  be  explained  by  referring  to  the  three  forces  in  action 
at  the  moment  they  reached  the  ground  :  —  first,  the  force 
of  gravity,  which,  if  the  a'ir  had  been  motionless,  and  the 
bodies  descending  perpendicularly,  would  probably  —  from 
the  unequal  density  of  the  parts  of  the  several  masses  — 
have  caused  most  of  them  to  descend  endwise ;  and  then 
the  position,  subsequently  taken  by  them  respectively, 
would  have  been  a  matter  of  indifference,  and  we  might 
have  expected  ,to  find  them  lying  promiscuously.  But, 
second,  they  were,  while  in  the  air,  moving  onward  with 
the  storm  in  an  easterly  direction,  and  when  the  lower  end 
struck  the  ground,  the  composition  of  this  force  with  gravity, 
would  naturally  have  thrown  the  centre  of  gravity  over  to 
the  east,  and  we  should  have  expected  to  find  the  lighter* 
end  of  every  piece  of  timber  in  that  direction.  But,  third, 
if  a  current  of  wind  were  encountered  near  the  ground, 
running  towards  the  centre  of  the  path,  we  should,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  path,  expect  to  find  the  lighter  ends  of 
each  piece  directed  to  the  south  east,  and  on  the  south  side, 
to  the  north  east;  precisely  what  appeared  to  be  the  case, 
so  far  as  could  be  judged  from  the  general  appearance  of 
the  masses. 

The  next  set  of  facts  observed,  was  that  which  relates  to 
the  course  of  the  materials  projected  upwards  after  they 
had  arrived  at  a  considerable  elevation.  All  accounts  agree 
that  the  appearance  of  the  cloud  was  that  of  a  funnel  or  in- 
verted cone  with  the  apex  resting  on  the  ground.  The  falling 
rafters,  scantlings,  and  other  parts  of  the  ruined  buildings, 


THE  BRUNSWICK  LAND  SPOUT.  317 

generally  indicated  that  they  were,  subsequently  to  the  up- 
ward violent  action,  carried  outward  by  the  gradual  en- 
largement of  the  current  into  which  they  had  been  drawn. 
The  shingles  and  boards,  just  described,  were  cases  in  point 
being  found  far  beyond  the  trail  of  the  tornado  as  marked 
upon  the  surface.  Rafters,  which  penetrated  buildings 
south  of  the  track,  entered  them  on  the  north  side,  and  in 
a  direction  inclining  to  the  south  east.  Their  descent,  in 
some  instances,  was  with  great  violence,  contrary  to  what 
happened  in  the  range  of  the  upward  motions;  where  a 
lad,  already  referred  to,  was  deposited  in  safety  after  an 
aerial  journey  of  one  fourth  of  a  mile.  A  window  frame 
and  brick  wall  were,  in  one  instance,  penetrated  by  a  rafter, 
twenty  feet  in  length,  eight  inches  wide,  and  from  four  to 
six  inches,  thick.  In  the  passage  of  the  storm  from  the  city 
to  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Raritan,  no  indications  are,  of 
course,  left  to  mark  the  peculiar  action  upon  the  waters; 
though  we  have  heard  it  stated,  but  cannot  say  upon  what 
authority,  that  the  bed  of  the  channel  was  laid  bare,  and 
from  the  nature  of  the  forces  and  their  violence,  we  cannot 
doubt  that  had  it  traversed  a  great  extent  of  water  surface, 
it  would  have  assumed  the  character,  as  it  certainly  had 
iheform,  of  a  water  spout.  On  encountering,  however, 
the  opposite  bank,  some  peculiar  effects  were  seen  to  have 
been  produced.  The  upper  edge  of  the  bank,  especially, 
was  marked  by  two  well  denned  stripes,  each  from  ten  to 
twenty  feet  wide,  and  one  hundred,  or  more,  feet  asunder. 
Here,  it  was  supposed,  must  have  been  the  outer  edge  of 
the  aerial  trunk,  or  funnel  through  which  the  air  rushed 
upwards,  and  as  the  tornado,  in  its  onward  movement,  ad- 
vanced against  the  bank,  the  air  coming  in  on  every  side  to 
fill  up  the  partial  vacuum  would  exert  the  greatest  force  at 
the  moment  when  it  changed  its  horizontal  for  a  vertical 
motion.  The  surface  of  the  ground  beyond  this  point 
seemed,  in  some  places,  to  have  been  raised,  as  if  the  air 


318  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

beneath,  by  its  sudden  rarefaction,  had  thrown  up  small 
portions  of  the  soil,  which  was  rather  dry  and  porous ;  and 
it  is,  perhaps,  worth  consideration,  whether  this  cause  may 
not,  in  this  and  similar  occurrences,  have  facilitated  the 
overturning  of  trees  themselves. 

It  was  a  subject  of  regret  at  the  moment,  that  want  of 
time,  and  of  a  suitable  instrument  to  measure  the  exact 
course  of  the  tornado,  and  the  precise  position  of  trees  in 
the  different  parts  of  the  track,  prevented  carrying  out  a 
plan,  which  suggested  itself  on  the  spot,  as  the  most  satis- 
factory method  of  arriving  at  precision  on  those  points. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  remarked,  that  the  directions 
and  intensities  of  the  forces  in  this  occurrence,  together 
with  the  hygrornetric  states  of  the  air,  preceding  and  fol- 
lowing the  meteor,  and  the  inverted  conical  form  of  the 
moving  column,  as  confirmed  by  several  witnesses,  not  less 
than  the  fall  of  hail,  and  the  distribution  of  fragments  of 
materials  beyond  the  path  of  the  ground  current  —  seem 
most  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  on  the  supposition  that  a 
disturbance  of  atmospheric  equilibrium,  results  from  a  dep- 
osition of  moisture  in  the  higher  regions  of  the  atmosphere 
giving  out  a  great  amount  of  latent  heat;  the  expansion  of 
pure  air  by  an  addition  of  heat,  being  in  such  cases  much 
greater  than  the  contraction  of  the  atmospheric  mixture  by 
a  condensation  of  its  moisture.  In  this  effect,  is,  of  course, 
involved  the  well  known  principle  that  the  capacity  of  air 
for  heat  is  augmented  as  its  volume  expands,  but  the  in- 
crease of  capacity  for  heat  being  less  rapid  than  the  supply 
of  heat  from  aqueous  depositions,  an  ascending  current  is 
maintained  with  a  force  due  to  the  difference  of  these  two 
causes.1 

The  above  is  the  testimony  of  Professors  Henry  and  John- 

1  The  origin  of  this  view  of  the  subject  with  which  the  writer  had  been 
made  acquainted  previously  to  the  examination  above  detailed,  is  due  to  Mr. 
J.  P.  Espy. 


THE  BRUNSWICK  LAND  SPOUT.  319 

son,  proving,  beyond  doubt,  the  inward  and  upward  motion 
of  air  in  the  spout.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  these 
gentlemen,  who  were  the  only  scientific  persons  acquainted 
with  my  theory,  are  also  the  only  ones  who  saw  the  facts 
so  as  to  give  any  intelligible  account  of  them. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  fourteen  days  after  the  occurrence  of 
the  spout,  Professor  A.  D.  Bache  (now  President  of  the 
Girard  College)  and  I  visited  the  scene  of  action  and  com- 
menced our  examination  of  the  phenomena,  about  seven 
miles  a  little  south  of  west  from  Brunswick,  where  it  ap- 
peared the  spout  first  reached  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

President  Bache  took  the  direction  in  which  the  trees 
were  lying,  with  a  mariner's  compass,  and  has  published 
in  the  Trans,  of  Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  a  full  account  of  his  part  of 
the  investigation,  with  plates,  showing  the  direction  in 
which  the  trees  fell.  This  account  is  too  extensive  to  be  in- 
troduced here;  I  shall  therefore  satisfy  myself  with  merely 
giving  the  general  conclusion  at  which  he  arrives. 

The  very  rigid  manner  in  which  it  is  known  that  Presi- 
dent Bache  pursues  all  his  investigations,  will  induce  the 
reader  to  place  great  confidence  in  the  conclusion,  even 
without  a  detail  of  the  facts  on  which  that  conclusion  is 
founded. 

"  As  far  as  the  examination  of  the  different  diagrams  has 
shown,"  he  says,  "I  think  it  entirely  made  out,  that  there 
was  a  rush  of  air  in  .all  directions  at  the  surface  of  the 
ground  towards  the  moving  meteor ;  this  rush  of  air  car- 
rying objects  with  it.  The  effects  all  indicate  a  moving 
column  of  rarefied  air,  without  any  whirling  motion  at  or 
near  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The  facts  to  prove  that 
there  was  an  upward  motion,  will  be  stated  by  Mr.  Espy." 
(See  Trans.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  for  1836,  pp.  415,  416,  417.) 

I  have  a  large  number  of  facts  concerning  the  Brunswick 
tornado,  which  I  collected,  both  at  the  time  I  examined  it 
with  President  Bache  and  afterwards,  which  I  intended  to 


320  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

give  to  the  public ;  but  it  has  been  delayed  so  long,  that  I 
am  now  enabled  to  supply  their  place,  nearly,  by  the  testi- 
mony of  other  persons,  concerning  other  spouts.  Of  course, 
I  prefer  their  testimony  to  my  own,  in  a  case  where  I  might 
be  supposed  to  be  interested. 


Observations  on  a  Hurricane  which  passed  over  Stow,  in 
Ohio,  October  2<M,  1837 ;  by  ELIAS  LOOMIS,  Professor  of 
Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  in  Western  Re- 
serve College. 

[From  Silliraan's  Journal.] 

177.  On  the  morning  of  October  20th,  1837,  a  hurricane, 
of  destructive  violence,  passed  over  Stow,  in  Ohio.  This 
town  is  situated  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Cleveland,  in 
north  latitude  41°  12',  and  west  longitude  81°  25'.  As  the 
hurricane  occurred  during  the  darkness  of  the  night,  we  can 
collect  little  information  respecting  it,  with  the  exception  of 
the  record  which  the  wind  has  itself  left  of  its  progress. 
During  the  night  of  the  19th  and  morning  of  the  20th  of 
October,  there  was  a  thunder  shower  at  Stow,  which  ex- 
tended into  some  of  the  adjoining  towns.  The  lightning 
was  rather  vivid,  the  rain  fell  in  torrents  and  the  wind 
blew  fresh  during  most  of  the  night.  About  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  a  whirlwind  formed  near  the  centre  of  Stow. 
It  moved  rapidly  from  west  to  east,  over  an  extent  of  about 
three  miles,  its  breadth  varying  from  forty  to  sixty,  and  oc- 
casionally to  eighty  rods.  For  about  a  mile  of  its  course, 
few  objects  were  found  of  sufficient  strength  to  resist  the 
shock.  The  trees  were  almost  entirely  blown  down  or 
broken  off;  the  fences  were  completely  scattered ;  the  houses 
and  barns  were  generally  unroofed,  and  one  house  torn  lite- 
rally into  pieces.  For  the  purpose  of  rendering  my  descrip- 
tion more  intelligible,  I  have  drawn  a  plan  of  that  part  of 
the  hurricane's  track  where  most  of  the  injury  was  done. 


HURRICANE  IN  OHIO. 


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322  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  hurricane  commenced  a  little  west  of  the  house  A. 
Its  violence  rapidly  increased  as  it  advanced  eastward,  and 
throughout  that  whole  part  of  the  track  which  is  represented 
in  the  diagram,  a  large  proportion  of  the  trees  were  levelled. 
Where  no  trees  are  represented  on  the  diagram,  there  were 
very  few,  if  any,  to  be  uprooted.  Eight  buildings  were 
unroofed;  three  pthers  were  considerably  injured,  and  the 
remainder  of  those  on  the  diagram  escaped  with  a  few  panes 
of  broken  glass.  But  it  was  the  house  D,  upon  which  the 
storm  poured  its  principal  violence.  This  was  a  small  frame 
house  of  one  story,  and  had  been  built  but  two  years.  It 
was  situated  upon  a  slight  eminence  or  knoll,  and  was  not 
protected  at  all  from  the  fury  of  the  wind.  The  house  was 
occupied  by  Mr.  Frederick  Sanford,  his  wife  and  mother, 
with  three  children.  On  the  evening  of  the  19th,  the  family 
were  absent  from  home  to  attend  a  wedding.  They  re- 
turned about  midnight,  and  Mrs.  Sanford  states  that  it  was 
then  raining  moderately,  the  lightning  was  somewhat  vivid, 
and  the  wind  fresh.  They  retired  to  bed  and  were  soon 
asleep.  Mrs.  S.  relates  that  she  was  awakened  from  a 
sound  sleep  by  a  crash,  which  she  presumes  was  occasioned 
by  the  falling  chimney ;  almost  at  the  same  instant  she  felt 
that  the  house  was  moving ;  there  was  a  tremendous  roar- 
ing noise,  and  further  than  this  she  has  no  recollection.  In 
the  morning,  the  neighbors  found  the  house  a  perfect  wreck. 
Not  a  timber  was  left  in  its  place.  The  foundation  stones 
were  not  disturbed,  but  the  entire  frame  of  the  house  was 
lifted  up,  and  carried  in  the  direction  of  the  barn  E.  A  por- 
tion of  the  foundation  frame  was  dropped  almost  immedi- 
ately, and  lay  but  a  few  feet  from  the  foundation  walls. 
The  bricks  of  the  chimney  were,  most  of  them,  carried  but 
a  short  distance,  and  were  scattered  along  precisely  in  the 
direction  of  the  barn.  A  considerable  number  of  bricks, 
however,  constituting,  as  is  supposed,  that  part  of  the  chim- 
ney which  rose  above  the  roof,  were  carried  to  a  greater 


HURRICANE  IN  OHIO,  323 

distance,  and  scattered  mostly  in  a  north  east  direction. 
The  barn  bore  north  29°  east  from  the  house,  as  I  deter- 
mined it  by  a  compass,  and  was  distant  from  it  twenty-five 
rods.  This  entire  space  was  strewed  with  the  small  frag- 
ments of  the  furniture  and  timbers  of  the  house.  About 
half  way  between  the  house  and  barn,  were  found  three 
corpses,  horribly  mangled,  being  the  bodies  of  Mr.  Sanford's 
two  son's  and  his  mother.  Mr.  Sanford  was  still  breathing, 
but  died  in  about  an  hour.  Mrs.  Sanford  and  her  daughter 
were  unable  to  move  in  consequence  of  bruises  and  broken 
bones.  They  are,  however,  still  living,  and  will  brobably 
recover.  Animals  of  various  kinds  were  lying  dead  among 
the  ruins.  There  were  pigs,  geese,  hens  and  turkeys,  in 
considerable  numbers,  and  several  of  the  fowls  were  picked 
almost  clean  of  their  feathers,  as  if  it  had  been  done  care- 
fully by  hand.  Neither  Mrs.  Sanford  nor  her  daughter  are 
able  to  give  any  satisfactory  account  of  the  hurricane,  for 
they  were  both  of  them  awakened  from  a  sound  sleep  by 
the  crash  of  the  house,  and  the  next  instant  they  were 
dashed  senseless  upon  the  ground.  I  have  stated  that  the 
houset  was  carried  in  the  direction  of  the  barn.  About  half 
of  the  roof  and  frame  fell  near  the  south  west  corner  of  the 
barn,  and  some  of  the  timbers  fell  near  the  south  east  corner. 
Several  heavy  joists  lay  scattered  forty  or  fifty  rods  beyond 
the  barn,  but  all  in  nearly  the  same  direction  from  the 
house.  There  were  several  very  remarkable  facts,  showing 
the  power  of  the  wind,  which  I  should  not  have  been  pre- 
pared to  credit  had  I  not  observed  them  for  myself.  I 
visited  the  spot  the  day  after  the  hurricane,  and  have  ob- 
served it  once  since  that  time.  An  ox  cart,  before  the  storm, 
was  standing  close  by,  and  in  the  rear  of,  Mr.  Sanford's 
house,  and  was  loaded  with  potatoes.  The  cart  was  lifted 
up  by  the  wind ;  it  soon  turned  a  somerset,  so  as  to  empty 
out  the  potatoes  upon  the  ground,  and  nearly  all  in  a  heap. 
The  cart  itself  was  dropped  a  few  rods  behind  the  barn,  and 


324  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

at  a  distance  of  thirty  rods  from  the  house.  If  the  cart 
moved  in  a  straight  line,  it  must  have  passed  directly  over 
the  barn.  Indeed,  it  is  quite  probable  that  such  was  the 
case ;  for  the  cart  struck  flat  upon  one  wheel,  which  buried 
itself  to  a  considerable  depth  in  the  earth.  The  spokes  were 
all  broken,  apparently  by  the  severity  of  this  fall,  and  there 
is  no  appearance  of  the  cart  having  been  injured  previously 
to  the  fall,  with  the  exception  of  the  loss  of  the  boards  which 
lined  the  body.  There  are  no  marks  of  the  cart  having 
been  dragged  along  upon  the  ground,  but  on  the  other  hand, 
the  wheel  imbedded  in  the  earth  shows  that  the  cart  fell 
nearly  perpendicularly,  and  from  a  considerable  height.  It 
is  then  probable  that  it  passed  directly  over  the  barn. 
There  was  a  heavy  drag,  moreover,  taken  from  nearly  the 
same  spot  with  the  cart,  and  which  also  fell  by  its  side  be- 
yond the  barn.  The  roof  of  the  barn  was  somewhat  in- 
jured, losing  some  shingles  and  boards,  and  it  is  conjectured 
that  the  drag  might  have  struck  the  roof  in  passing  over  it. 
I  attach  but  little  importance,  however,  to  the  question 
whether  the  cart  and  drag  actually  passed  over  the  barn. 
It  is  at  least  certain,  that  they  were  transported  by  the 
wind  about  thirty  rods,  and  fell  from  a  considerable  height. 

A  wagon,  before  the  storm,  was  standing  in  front  of  the 
house  by  the  road-side.  The  next  morning  one  wheel  was 
found  in  the  road,  about  thirty  rods  east  of  the  house; 
another  wheel  a  little  further  north  over  the  fence;  the  two 
remaining  wheels  at  a  still  greater  distance  from  the  house, 
and  in  the  direction  of  the  barn,  H.  The  wagon  box  was 
found  half  a  mile  distant,  in  a  north  east  direction. 

There  is  another  fact,  which  appears  to  my  mind  still 
more  remarkable.  A  very  heavy  cast  iron  plough  was 
lying  between  the  two  houses,  C  and  D ;  a  massive  iron 
chain  was  attached  to  it,  and  there  was  little  wood-work 
about  it.  This  plough  was  dragged  along  about  four  rods, 
and  ploughed  into  the  ground  in  several  places.  In  one 


HURRICANE  IN  OHIO.  325 

spot  it  appears  to  have  been  carried  almost  entirely  around, 
removing  all  the  turf  from  a  space  about  four  feet  square, 
and  throwing  up  the  earth  to  the  distance  of  six  feet ;  the 
plough  was  broken  so  as  to  be  worthless.  Various  light 
objects  of  clothing  have  been  found  in  the  neighboring 
towns  ;  a  sheet  was  found  in  Franklin,  three  miles  east  in 
a  straight  line ;  and  a  silk  frock,  with  a  bonnet,  was  found 
in  Streetsborongh,  a  distance  of  five  miles,  in  a  direction 
east  north  east. 

My  principal  object  in  examining  the  ground  has  been  to 
determine  the  direction  of  the  wind's  motion.  This  may  be 
done  tolerably  well  by  observing  the  bearings  of  the  fallen 
trees.  Trees  will  usually  fall  very  nearly  in  the  direction 
of  the  wind  which  uproots  them.  I  have  therefore  meas- 
ured with  a  compass  the  direction  of  a  very  large  number 
of  the  trees  throughout  that  part  of  the  track  where  the 
wind  was  most  violent.  On  the  north  side  of  the  road  and 
close  by  the  barn  B,  on  the  west  side  of  it,  one  tree  fell 
S.  7°  E.,  another  south,  and  another  S.  9°  W.  Back  of  the 
house  C,  the  trees  fell  S.  42°  E. ;  S.  31°  E. ;  and  S.  12°  E. 
A  little  further  east,  between  the  houses  C  and  D,  several 
apple  trees  fell  in  the  direction  S.  6°  E. ;  S.  12°  E. ;  S.  31°  E.  ; 
S.  42°  E. ;  S.  68°  E.  Those  nearest  the  road  were  generally 
more  inclined  to  the  south  than  those  near  the  borders  of 
the  track,  but  this  rule  was  not  without  exceptions.  Almost 
exactly  north  from  the  house  D,  and  at  the  distance  of 
about  thirty  rods,  a  tree  fell  S.  49°  W.  A  little  farther  east, 
an  old  tree,  but  a  stout  one,  fell  directly  towards  the  barn 
E,  which  bore  S.  16°  E. ;  and  still  farther  east,  being  directly 
north  from  the  barn,  and  distant  about  twenty  rods,  an  oak 
tree,  two  feet  in  diameter,  but  somewhat  decayed,  fell 
S.  54°  W.  In  this  neighborhood,  the  whole  number  of  trees 
was  very  small.  Still  further  east,  near  the  house  G,  but 
west  of  it,  the  trees  fell  S.  26°  *E. ;  S.  82°  W. ;  N.  86°  W. 

Passing  over  now  to  the  south  side  of  the  road,  a  few 
rods  beyond  the  barn  B,  the  trees  were  generally  turned 


326  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

northward,  but  some  eastward.  Opposite  the  houses  D,  G 
and  I,  was  a  white-oak  forest.  Here  the  trees  were  not 
generally  blown  down,  but  broken  off  at  an  elevation  from 
the  ground  of  from  twenty  to  forty  feet.  The  stoutest 
white  oaks  of  two  feet  diameter  were  snapped  like  a  walk- 
ing cane.  I  measured  the  bearings  of  a  large  number  of 
the  fallen  trunks ;  they  were  N.  56°  W. ;  N.  46°  W. ;  N. 
32°  Vvr. ;  N.  31°  W. ;  N.  29°  W. ;  N.  2°  E. ;  and  N.  14°  E. 
Within  these  limits  the  bearings  of  nearly  all  the  trees  in 
this  forest  were  embraced,  if  we  except  a  few  which  lay 
very  near  the  road.  Here  the  trees  were  thrown  down  in 
much  greater  disorder;  thus,  directly  opposite  the  house  G, 
and  near  the  road,  one  tree  of  immense  size  fell  N.  31°  W. 
Only  two  rods  distant  were  two  others  of  about  the  same 
dimensions,  which  fell  S.  31°  E.,  and  then  another  N.  31° 
W.  Thus  here  were  four  large  trees,  side  by  side,  with 
their  trunks  as  nearly  parallel  as  they  could  well  be  laid, 
while  the  tops  of  two  pointed  northward  and  those  of  the 
other  southward. 

The  preceding  observations  will  show  the  direction  of  the 
fallen  trees  as  compared  with  the  track  of  the  hurricane, 
for  the  latter  was  almost  due  east  and  west,  not  following 
absolutely  a  straight  course,  yet  very  nearly  so.  I  have 
introduced  the  observations  here  for  the  sake  of  showing 
how  great  variety  there  was  in  the  bearings  of  the  fallen 
trunks,  and  also  to  show  that  these  bearings  were  actually 
measured  and  not  loosely  estimated  by  the  eye.  A  general 
idea  of  the  direction  of  the  trees  will  be  best  acquired  from 
the  diagram,  in  which  I  have  attempted  to  represent  their 
relative  positions  and  bearings.  It  will  then  appear  from 
an  inspection  of  the  diagram,  that  in  the  midst  of  some  dis- 
order there  was  a  degree  of  uniformity.  Thus  upon  either 
border  of  the  track  the  trees  all  incline  toward  some  point 
in  the  centre  of  the  track.  There  is  not  an  example  of  a  tree 
being  turned  outward  from  the  track,  nor  even  one  which 
lies  in  a  direction  parallel  to  it.  I  except  from  this  remark 


HURRICANE  UN  OHIO.  327 

those  near  the  middle  of  the  path,  which  were  subject  to  a 
different  law,  as  will  presently  be  seen.  Of  all  the  trees 
situated  near  the  borders  of  the  track,  the  bearing  which 
approaches  nearest  to  parallelism  with  the  track  was  in  the 
case  of  an  apple  tree,  about  halfway  between  the  houses  C 
and  D.  This  bore  S.  68°  E.,  differing  22°  from  parallelism. 
This  is  a  striking  result,  and  clearly  shows  that  the  wind 
blew  from  both  borders  of  the  track  towards  some  point  in 
the  centre  of  the  track.  This  remark  does  not  apply  to  one 
part  of  the  track  exclusively,  but  was  a  general  character- 
istic of  the  hurricane.  Moreover,  there  was  one  spot  near 
the  house  A,  where  the  fences  on  each  side  of  the  road  were 
blown  into  the  road. 

We  have  then,  I  think,  established,  that  there  were  two 
powerful  currents  of  wind  blowing  from  the  opposite  side  of 
the  track ;  that  is,  within  a  few  rods  of  each  other,  and  with 
such  violence  that  the  stoutest  oaks  fell  before  it.  What 
then  became  of  the  air  thus  accumulated  in  the  centre?  It 
must  have  some  escape.  Was  this  escape  in  a  horizontal 
or  vertical  direction  ?  The  evidence  I  think  is  sufficient  to 
decide  this  question  ;  that  there  was  a  powerful  current  up- 
ward from  the  surface  of  the  earth  near  the  middle  of  the 
track,  is  proved  by  the  objects  which  were  actually  eleva- 
ted into  the  air.  The  house  D  was  lifted  directly  from  its 
foundations.  The  cart  which  was  standing  near  the  house 
was  raised  thirty  or  forty  feet,  at  the  least  calculation,  into 
the  air.  The  feather  bed  upon  which  Miss  Sanford  was 
sleeping,  was  found  next  morning  lodged  in  a  tree  nearly 
between  the  house  and  the  barn,  and  at  an  elevation  of 
forty  feet  from  the  ground.  A  coat,  which  belonged  to  one 
of  the  men  of  the  house,  was  lodged  also  in  the  same  tree. 
The  light  articles  which  have  been  found  in  the  neighbor- 
ing towns,  prove  not  only  a  horizontal  current,  but  an  as- 
cending one  sufficient  to  counteract  the  effects  of  gravity 
during  several  minutes. 


328  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

We  have  now  established,  by  a  fair  induction,  that  there 
was  a  powerful  current  of  air  from  the  opposite  sides  of  the 
track  towards  some  point  in  the  centre  of  the  track,  and 
that  here  there  was  also  a  powerful  current  upward. 
What  was  the  nature  of  this  ascending  current?  Was  it 
accompanied  by  gyration  ?  This  question  I  think  we  are 
able  to  answer.  The  furniture  of  the  house  D  was  scat- 
tered in  very  various  directions.  The  house  itself,  and  the 
more  substantial  part  of  the  furniture  were  carried  in  the 
direction  of  the  barn ;  portions  of  the  wagon,  however,  lay 
strewed  in  every  direction  from  east  to  north  east ;  leaves 
of  books  were  found  attached  to  bushes  by  the  road  in  an 
east  direction ;  a  tin  pail  and  various  light  articles  were 
found  in  the  woods  opposite  the  house  G,  and  in  a  direction 
S.  E.  from  D ;  and  a  piece  of  a  clock  was  found  in  a  north 
west  direction  from  D,  in  the  apple  orchard.  The  plough, 
which  was  between  the  houses  C  and  D,  was  obviously 
carried  round  nearly  an  entire  circumference,  for  it  left  clear 
marks  of  its  course  on  the  ground.  We  find  the  same  evi- 
dence of  a  gyral  motion  in  the  directions  of  the  trees  which 
fell  near  the  middle  of  the  track.  Take  the  case  of  the  four 
trees  I  have  mentioned  in  front  of  the  house  G.  They  lie 
parallel  to  each  other,  side  by  side,  and  fell  nearly  at  right 
angles  to  the  track  of  the  hurricane.  Yet  the  tops  of  two  of 
them  incline  to  the  north,  and  those  of  the  other  two  to  the 
south.  Here  there  were  two  winds  which  blew,  we  cannot 
suppose  simultaneously,1  but  successively,  from  opposite 
points  of  the  compass  at  the  very  same  spot,  and  the  two 
winds  must  have  succeeded  each  other  at  an  interval  not 
exceeding  a  minute,  for  the  violence  of  the  hurricane  was 
past  in  about  that  time.  The  preceding,  moreover,  is  a 
phenomenon  which  occurred  not  in  one  spot  merely,  but  all 
along  the  centre  of  the  track.  Every  where  there  is  the 

1  Why  not  simultaneously  ?— AUTHOR. 


HURRICANE  IN  OHIO.  329 

same  evidence  of  two  currents  in  exactly  opposite  direc- 
tions, having  passed  over  precisely  the  same  spot.  I  know 
of  but  one  supposition  which  will  explain  all  these  pheno- 
mena, namely,  that  the  air  near  the  centre  of  the  track  had 
a  whirling  motion.1  A  tree  then  which  was  levelled  as  this 
whirl  was  approaching  it,  would  be  turned  to  the  right  for 
example ;  and  another  which  fell  as  the  whirl  was  reced- 
ing, would  be  inclined  to  the  left ;  so  that  we  might  have 
trees  side  by  side,  lying  parallel  to  each  other,  but  with 
their  tops  turned  in  opposite  directions  conformably  with 
the  observations.  It  appears,  however,  that  this  whirl  did 
not  extend  over  the  breadth  of  the  entire  track,  for  then 
trees  must  have  every  where  fallen,  occasionally  at  least, 
parallel  to  the  track,  a  fact  which  has  been  observed  only 
near  the  middle  of  the  path. 

We  are  now,  I  think,  in  a  situation  to  explain  nearly  all 
the  phenomena  which  have  been  observed.  The  wind 
blew  from  the  opposite  sides  of  the  track,  and  doubtless 
from  every  point  of  the  compass,  towards  some  point  in 
the  centre  of  the  track ;  here  the  wind  rose  violently  with 
a  gyral  motion.  This  vortex  itself  had  a  rapid  motion  from 
west  to  east,  sweeping  along  over  the  middle  of  the  hurri- 
cane's path.  Trees  then  upon  the  borders  of  the  track 
would  every  where  fall  towards  this  vortex.  Those  which 
were  prostrated  as  the  vortex  was  approaching,  would  have 
an  inclination  to  the  west;  but  those  which  fell  as  the 
vortex  was  receding,  would  be  found  inclined  to  the  east, 
and  we  should  no  where  find  trees  falling  outward  from 
the  track,  or  even  parallel  to  it.  All  this  is  in  exact  con- 
formity with  the  observations.  We  may  now,  moreover, 
explain  a  fact  which  at  first  view  might  have  seemed  quite 
anomalous,  viz.  that  the  house  D  was  carried  in  the  direc- 

1  It  does  not  appear  to  me,  that  a  whirl  is  clearly  proved  by  the  phenome- 
na, though  it  is  to  be  expected  that  it  must  sometimes  take  place.     The  Pro- 
fessor does  not  say  which  way  it  whirled.  —  AUTHOR. 
42 


330  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

tion  of  the  barn,  while  a  tree  behind  the  barn  fell  towards 
the  house.  At  the  surface  of  the  earth  the  wind  must  have 
blown  at  one  instant  from  the  barn  towards  the  house ; 
here,  however,  there  was  an  upward  and  gyral  current; 
the  house  was  raised  with  it,  and  almost  immediately 
thrown  out  of  its  vortex  by  its  immense  centrifugal  force. 
Lighter  objects,  which  were  carried  up  with  it,  were  retain- 
ed in  the  whirl  a  long  time,  and  were  finally  thrown  in 
very  various  and  even  opposite  directions. 

The  preceding  results  as  to  the  character  of  the  wind's 
motion,  are  very  similar  to  those  which  marked  the  New 
Brunswick  hurricane  of  1836.  It  is  desirable  that  the  lead- 
ing features  of  every  great  hurricane  should  be  faithfully 
recorded,  that  we  may  in  time  be  enabled  to  decide  whether 
the  preceding  characteristics  pertain  alike  to  all  hurricanes; 
or,  if  otherwise,  into  how  many  classes  they  are  to  be 
divided. 


Observations   on  the  New  Haven    Tornado^  by  Professor 
Olmstedj  of  Yale  College. 

[From  Silliman's  Journal,  for  October.] 

178.  On  the  31st  of  July,  1839,  there  occurred,  on  the 
western  skirts  of  the  city  of  New  Haven,  a  tornado  of  the 
most  violent  class.  The  preceding  morning  had  been 
cloudy  and  sultry,  and,  immediately  previous  to  the  tor- 
nado, a  thunder  storm  seemed  approaching  from  the  west, 
attended  by  some  appearances  of  high  wind.  I  was,  at  the 
time,  about  a  mile  eastward  of  the  track  of  the  storm,  ob- 
serving the  phenomenon  from  my  chamber  window.  The 
clouds  betrayed  that  singular  agitation,  which  usually  fore- 
bodes a  hurricane,  and  the  vane  of  a  neighboring  steeple 
was  constantly  shifting  its  position.  A  short  time  before 
the  tornado  commenced,  the  wind  blew  fresh  from  the 
south  east,  having  been  in  this  quarter  during  the  preceding 


THE  NEW  HAVEN  TORNADO.  331 

morning;  it  changed  suddenly  to  the  south,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment more  it  was  west,  where  it  continued  fixed.  Accom- 
panying these  changes  a  heavy  rumbling  noise  was  heard, 
not  unlike  the  passing  of  a  long  train  of  railway  cars,  which 
was  audible  in  every  part  of  the  city. 

Its  progress  was  indicated  by  marks  of  the  greatest  vio- 
lence. Nearly  every  tree  that  came  in  its  way  through  the 
open  country,  was  prostrated  or  broken  off;  six  houses, 
and  a  number  of  barns,  were  completely  demolished ; 
several  other  houses  and  barns  were  unroofed ;  fields  of 
corn,  then  just  earing,  were  laid  close  to  the  ground ;  and 
indeed  the  whole  space  over  which  the  tornado  had  passed, 
presented  one  uniform  scene  of  ruin  and  desolation. 

In  extent,  this  tornado  appears  to  have  been  very  limited. 
Its  length  did  not  exceed  four  miles,  and  its  average  breadth 
was  only  sixty  rods,  varying,  however,  a  little  in  different 
places.  Its  duration  at  one  place  did  not  exceed  half  a 
minute,  and  its  progressive  motion  may  be  estimated  at 
forty  miles  per  hour.  These  estimates  are  made  by  com- 
paring the  impressions  and  statements  of  various  individ- 
uals who  were  within  the  limits  of  the  storm. 

The  appearance  of  the  storm  as  it  approached,  was  de- 
liberately contemplated  by  numerous  observers  who  saw  it 
coming  over  the  plain.  All  describe  it  as  a  strange  cloud  of 
terrific  aspect,  white,  like  a  driving  snow  storm,  or  light 
fog,  and  agitated  by  the  most  violent  intestine  motions.  It 
came  suddenly  upon  them  with  torrents  of  water —  "there 
was  a  rush  —  a  crash  —  and  it  was  gone."  When  first 
seen  coming  over  East  Rock,  it  seemed  lifted  above  the 
ridge  of  the  mountain,  but  fell  nearer  to  the  earth  as  it 
descended  the  eastern  declivity,  and  renewed  its  work  of 
destruction  when  it  reached  the  plain. 

Let  us  now  trace  more  particularly  those  facts  which 
have  a  bearing  upon  the  laws  which  govern  this  storm. 

1.  The  first  great  fact  that  strikes  us,  is,  that  all  the  trees 


332  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

and  other  objects  that  mark  the  direction  of  the  wind  which 
prostrated  them,  are,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  turned 
inwards  on  both  sides  towards  the  centre  of  the  track; 
while  near  the  centre,  the  direction  of  the  prostrate  bodies 
is  coincident  with  that  of  the  storm. 

2.  On  more  minute  inspection,  we  find  prevailing  a  re- 
markable law  of  curvature,.     This  is  most  favorably  seen  in 
corn  fields,  as  the  prostrate  corn  indicates  the  course  of  the 
wind  at  each  spot,  with  great  precision.     The  law  is  this. 
Commencing  on  the  northern  margin  of  the  track,  the  stalks 
of  corn  are  turned  backward,  that  is,   toward  the  S.  E. ; 
proceeding  towards  *the  centre  of  the  track,  their  inclina- 
tions to  the  south  become  constantly  less  and  less,  turning 
gradually  towards  the  course  of  the  storm,  until  when  we 
reach  the  centre,  they  lie  to  the  N.  E.  exactly  in  the  line  of 
the  storm.     This  curvature  is  in  all  cases  more  observable 
on  the  northern,  than  on  the  southern  side  of  the  track.     In 
the  latter  case,  the  stalks  of  corn  lie  more  nearly  at  right 
angles  to  the  course  of  the  storm,  (but  inclining  forward); 
still,  on  reaching  the  centre,  they  turn  to  the  north  east,  and 
become  coincident  with  that  course. 

3.  Numerous  examples  are  seen  where  the  bodies  as  they 
fell  towards  the   centre   of  the  track,   or   after  they  had 
fallen,  were  turned  farther  round  towards  the  direction  in 
which  the  tornado  was  moving,  that  is,  towards  the  north 
east. 

4.  The  ruins  of  buildings  that  were  demolished,  are  scat- 
tered in  nearly  a  right  line  towards  the  centre  of  the  track ; 
but  they  frequently  are  strewed  quite  across  the  central 
parts,  reaching  in  some  instances  almost  to  the   opposite 
margin.     In  this  case,  they  are  often  found  covered  with 
trees,  and  other  bodies  lying  in  precisely  the  opposite  di- 
rection. 

5.  In  a  few  instances  very  limited  spots  are  found  where 
the  prostrate  bodies,  as  hills  of  corn,  lie  in  all  directions. 


THE  NEW  HAVEN  TORNADO.  333 

Examples  occur  where  one  portion  of  the  same  hill  of  corn 
is  turned  westward,  and  another  portion  eastward. 

In  a  garden  near  H1  are  a  few  rows  of  pole  beans  appa- 
rently untouched  by  the  storm,  while  within  a  few  feet  on 
either  hand,  the  most  violent  effects  are  exhibited.  Near  L. 
a  barn  was  demolished,  and  a  dove-cote  scattered  in  frag- 
ments, while  a  hen  roost  which  stood  feebly  on  blocks,  was 
unharmed.  Large  trees  in  the  immediate  vicinity  were  torn 
up  by  the  roots.  A  house  that  stood  between  I  and  L  was 
completely  torn  in  pieces,  leaving  nothing  but  the  southern 
half  of  the  ground  floor.  In  the  room  of  this  floor,  a  wo- 
man was  washing,  and  another  was  at  work  in  a  base- 
ment room  immediately  below,  while  her  child  was  asleep 
in  a  cradle  in  a  room  above,  at  the  north  eastern  angle  of  the 
house.  They  saw  the  tornado  approaching;  the  woman  in 
the  basement  ran  up  and  caught  her  child  in  her  arms,  and 
immediately  afterwards  found  herself  and  child  in  an  open 
field  a  few  paces  north  of  the  house,  the  child  having  been 
carried  only  a  few  feet  from  the  spot  where  they  were,  while 
the  mother  was  carried  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  farther  to 
the  westward.  The  other  woman,  meanwhile,  was  swept 
off  from  the  floor  where  she  was  standing  and  carried  north- 
ward and  deposited  in  the  cellar,  the  floor  of  the  northern 
half  of  the  house  having  been  borne  away  along  with  other 
parts  of  the  building.  None  of  the  party  were  seriously 
injured.  A  bureau  that  was  in  the  room  where  the  woman 
was  washing,  was  carried  half  a  mile  to  the  eastward,  and 
portions  of  it  were  found  sticking  in  the  sides  of  a  barn, 
having  penetrated  the  thick  wall  of  plank.  A  silk  cape  also 
was  taken  from  this  house,  and  carried  over  East  Rock,  to 
the  distance  of  three  miles.  In  a  barn  that  was  blown  down 
on  the  east  side  of  East  Rock,  a  boy  that  was  on  a  load  of 
hay  in  the  barn  was  transported  across  the  street  and  depo- 
sited in  a  neighboring  field  unharmed. 

1  The  references  in  this  paragraph  are  to  a  diagram  in  Silliman's  Journal, 
which  we  have  not  the  means  of  copying.  —  Eds.  Jour,  of  Com. 


334  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

In  other  cases,  however,  forces  seem  to  have  acted  with 
great  violence  upon  the  individual  parts  of  bodies.  Nume- 
rous instances  occurred  where  hens  were  completely  strip- 
ped of  their  feathers.  A  wagon  was  taken  up  along  with 
the  shed  in  which  it  was  standing.  The  shed  was  scattered 
in  fragments,  and  the  wagon  was  carried  northward  a  hun- 
dred feet  or  more,  and  dashed  sideways  against  a  barn, 
leaving  a  full  impression  of  one  of  the  wheels  on  the  walls 
of  the  barn.  Having  here  nearly  reached  the  centre  of  the 
track,  it  took  a  turn  to  the  north  east  and  was  deposited  at 
the  distance  of  several  rods  in  an  exceedingly  mutilated 
state,  the  top  having  been  carried  off  and  not  yet  found,  and 
the  strong  iron  springs  broken  and  bent  in  a  manner  that 
denoted  an  exceedingly  violent  action.  No  part  of  this  vio- 
lence is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  force  with  which  it  fell  to  the 
ground,  for  it  must  have  fallen  very  gently,  since  the  ground 
was  scarcely  broken  at  all.  The  same  fact  was  observed  in 
the  cases  of  trees  and  other  heavy  bodies  that  were  raised 
into  the  atmosphere  and  transported  to  a  distance.  They 
did  not  generally  appear  to  have  fallen  with  the  ordinary 
force  of  falling  bodies. 

Those  forces  which  acted  upon  the  individual  parts  of  a 
body  often  appear  to  have  acted  in  contrary  directions. 
The  legs  of  the  same  table  were  found  deposited  at  the  dis- 
tance of  many  feet  from  each  other  in  different  directions; 
and  this  was  true  also  of  the  hinges  of  the  same  door. 

We  examined  diligently  for  evidence  of  an  explosive  force 
acting  on  buildings  from  within,  in  consequence  of  a  sudden 
rarefaction  of  the  air  on  the  outside  of  the  building  agreea- 
bly to  what  is  reported  of  the  New  Brunswick  tornado  and  of 
storms.  We  found  but  one  case  that  favored  such  a  suppo- 
sition. This  was  the  case  of  a  barn  where  the  walls  were 
thrown  out  on  every  side,  and  without  much  apparent  vio- 
lence. 


TORNADO  AT  PINE  PLAINS.  335 

Destructive  Tornado. 

[From  the  Poughkeepsie  Journal.] 

179.  On  Saturday,  about  six  o'clock,  P.  M.,  the  town  of 
Pine  Plains  was  visited  by  one  of  the  most  destructive  tem- 
pests this  part  of  the  country  ever  experienced.  The  day 
was  very  sultry,  and  towards  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
clouds  began  to  darken  in  the  horizon,  highly  charged  with 
the  electric  fluid,  as  was  apparent  from  the  incessant  glare 
of  lightning  and  continual  war  of  thunder ;  the  clouds 
mixed  angrily  together,  which  rendered  the  aspect  sublime 
and  beautiful,  till  about  six  o'clock,  when  the  watery  ele- 
ments became  more  reconciled,  and  veered  to  the  north  of 
us,  with  little  or  no  rain.  At  this  juncture,  our  attention 
was  arrested  by  the  peculiar  mano3uvring  of  dark  and  heavy 
clouds  a  little  south  of  west,  appearing  above  the  Stissing 
Mountains,  about  one  mile  distant. 

As  the  black  cloud  arose,  (it  had  the  appearance  and 
commotion  of  dense  volumes  of  smoke  bursting  from  a 
burning  building,)  light  and  windy  clouds  from  all  that  part 
of  the  heavens,  veered  toward  it  with  unspeakable  confu- 
sion and  velocity,  apparently  making  it  their  common  cen- 
tre and  were  lost  in  its  power.  At  our  place  of  observa- 
tion, in  the  village,  a  dead  calm  pervaded,  which  rendered 
this  exhibition  of  Almighty  power,  together  with  its  deafen- 
ing war,  an  appalling  spectacle  to  the  beholder.  After  it 
crossed  the  Stissing,  our  view  was  fairer,  the  dark  cloud 
with  its  attendants,  kept  close  to  the  earth,  extending  up- 
ward about  half  way  to  the  zenith,  and,  as  if  unable  to 
sustain  its  power,  was  seen  to  burst  several  times,  produc- 
ing new  rains ;  where  these  descending  gusts  struck,  such 
were  their  fury,  that  nothing  could  resist ;  even  the  earth 
itself,  trembled  at  their  terrific  explosions,  —  trees,  limbs, 
rails,  boards,  hogsheads,  &c.,  mingled  with  the  heavens,  as 


336  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

feathers  before  an  ordinary  storm ;  as  it  approached,  our 
emotions  were  somewhat  relieved,  by  hoping  its  course 
might  be  a  little  to  our  north,  which  proved  so,  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  rods ;  nevertheless,  our  village  materially 
suffered. 

A  barn  of  H.  C.  Myers  was  destroyed,  and  his  fine  or- 
chard of  fruit  trees  torn  up  root  and  branch.  A  large  barn 
and  sheds  of  J.  Booth  were  felled,  and  his  dwelling  much 
injured.  The  dwelling  of  John  Decker  was  blown  to  atoms, 
some  of  the  rafters  and  clapboards  were  carried  nearly  one 
hundred  rods  —  himself  and  family  much  injured.  A  large 
new  Baptist  church,  almost  completed,  was  literally  piled 
into  a  heap  of  promiscuous  rubbish ;  even  the  wall  of  its 
foundation  was  torn  up  several  feet  —  fortunately,  Mr. 
Northrop,  master  builder,  and  four  or  five  of  his  workmen, 
and  three  or  four  masons,  left  a  few  minutes  before.  Many 
of  the  buildings  were  unroofed.  The  premises  of  Captain 
Jacob  Best,  a  mile  and  half  west  of  us,  consisting  of  a  large 
new  barn,  forty  by  fifty  feet  square,  and  a  shed  twenty 
by  forty  feet,  attached  to  it,  and  other  small  buildings  were 
entirely  prostrated,  even  the  foundation  timbers  were  thrown 
several  rods,  split  and  broken  in  every  possible  manner ; 
his  house  exhibited  a  melancholy  wreck,  unroofed,  siding 
torn  off  and  buried  amid  timbers,  trees,  and  other  promiscu- 
ous lumber ;  his  wagons,  carts  and  sleighs,  were  found 
wrecks,  from  thirty  to  forty  rods  whence  they  were  taken, 
and  one  cart  wheel  was  carried  nearly  one  fourth  of  a  mile 
up  a  hill ;  large  apple  trees  were  hurled  thirty  and  forty 
rods,  and  one  was  carried  more  than  half  a  mile  by  meas- 
urement ;  he  had  some  cattle  killed. 

A  Mr.  Anthony  Simmons,  near  Best's,  was  on  the  road 
with  his  team,  loaded  with  a  hogshead  of  sugar  (twelve 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds)  ;  horses,  wagon  and  sugar  were 
hurled  over  a  stone  wall  into  a  perfect  wreck;  himself 
blown  in  an  opposite  direction  about  fifteen  rods,  against  a 


THE  NATCHEZ  TORNADO.  337 

gate  post  and  stones,  where  he  clung  fast.  Isaac  Crandall, 
Samuel  Gripham  and  Daniel  Sherwood,  had  their  bams 
destroyed  and  houses  injured.  Jeptah  Wilbur  had  three 
large  barns,  cider  mill,  sheds,  &c.,  torn  away,  so  that  one 
stick  lay  not  upon  another  ;  his  dwelling,  three  stories  high, 
was  stripped,  except  the  floors ;  on  the  floor  of  the  third 
story,  was  found  a  cart  wheel  and  axle  tree ;  his  wagons 
and  all  his  farming  utensils,  were  strewed  about  his  fields 
in  pieces  ;  even  hams  that  were  in  his  smoke  house,  were 
found  in  divers  places,  some  carried  more  than  sixty  rods 
distant ;  had  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  killed.  Much 
other  destruction  of  buildings  has  come  to  our  knowledge. 

This  tornado  took  its  origin  near  the  river,  as  near  as  we 
can  learn,  and  coursed  easterly  through  Redhook,  Milan, 
Pine  Plains,  North  East,  and  became  partially  exhausted 
in  Salisbury,  Conn.,  about  thirty  miles  distant.  Its  width 
varied  from  sixty  to  eighty  rods,  as  appeared  from  its  de- 
vastated path,  wherein  trees,  limbs,  tops  of  saplings,  rails, 
boards,  pieces  of  roofs,  were  promiscuously  scattered,  with- 
out the  least  notion  where  they  belonged.  The  amount  of 
damage  is  incalculable  ;  we  learn  no  destruction  of  human 
life,  yet  many  persons  were  seriously  injured.  These  ruins 
are  richly  worth  a  visit ;  they  cannot  but  indicate  a  striking 
proof  of  Almighty  Power. 


The  Natchez  Tornado,  7th  May,  1840. 

NATCHEZ,  MAY  30,  1840. 

Matthew  Henry  Webster,  Esq.,  Cor.  Sec'y  of  the  Albany  Institute. 

180.  MY  RESPECTED  FRIEND;  —  You  will  herewith  receive 
some  brief  observations  concerning  the  tornado  that  deso- 
lated this  city  on  the  7th  instant.  You  may  rely  upon 
their  correctness,  as  they  were  made  the  evening  succeed- 
ing the  storm.  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  go  into  an  extend- 

43 


338 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


ed  detail  of  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  tornado, 
as  my  esteemed  friend.  Professor  Forshey,  is  preparing  a 
history  thereof,  a  copy  of  which  you  will  receive  in  due 
time.  With  respect,  H.  TOOLEY. 

The  atmospheric  temperature  from  the  first  to  the  sixth 
day  of  May,  was  higher  than  on  the  same  days  of  the  five 
preceding  years.  The  range  of  the  thermometer  and  ba- 
rometer of  the  days  mentioned,  together  with  the  winds  and 
weather  will  be  seen  in  the  following  table. 


THERMOMETER.             BAROMETER.               ATT.  THER. 

a 

a* 

? 

ft* 

a 

a 

WIND'S  DIRECTION 

a 

ti 

? 

AND    FORCE. 

Q 

C0~ 

CO 

o 

«f 

CO 

% 

£ 

1 

75 

79 

82 

29,77 

29,77 

29,74 

78 

79 

82 

w  3  2,  N  E  2 

2 

75 

82 

85 

,69 

,67 

,58 

77 

SI 

82 

s  2,  s  w  3  4  5 

3 

76 

83 

85 

,51 

,52 

,52 

78 

83 

84 

s  w  4  5  3 

4 

70 

82 

86 

,64 

,73 

,70 

74 

83 

85 

S  2,  N  2,  N  E  2 

5 

69 

79 

86 

,72 

,71 

,63 

73 

71) 

83 

E   3,-W    2,   N   E   2 

6 

71 

83 

85 

,60 

,53 

,45 

75 

81 

84 

s  E  2,  s  3  4  5 

Mean, 

72,6 

81,3 

84,8 

29,65,5 

29,65,5 

29,60,3 

75,8 

81 

83,3 

7 

73 

80 

29,46 

29,49 

80    80 

Remarks  on  each  day.  —  1.  Darkly  overcast  all  day,  and 
very  hazy.  2.  Overcast,  very  hazy,  dense  cumuli,  cirri  of 
every  form,  windy  all  night  3.  Large  cumuli,  under  scud 
5,  thunder,  dense  cumuli ;  the  evening  closes  very  hazy, 
but  cloudless.  4.  Morning  clouds,  a  few  cirri,  the  sun  sets 
brilliantly.  5.  Cirri  —  without  a  cloud  —  thin  cirri — over- 
cast. 6.  Overcast  all  day,  sprinkle  of  rain. 

The  seventh  day  was  ushered  in  densely  overcast,  and 
very  warm,  with  a  brisk  wind  at  S.  4,  increasing  at  noon, 
and  veering  to  the  E.  5.  At  meridian,  the  southwestern 
sky  assumed  a  darker  and  more  tempestuous  aspect,  the 
gloom  and  turbulence  increasing  every  moment.  At  12.45 


THE  NATCHEZ  TORNADO.  339 

the  roar  of  the  approaching  storm  began  to  be  distinctly 
heard,  the  wind  blowing  a  gale,  N.  E.  6.  The  roar  and 
commotion  of  the  storm  grew  more  loud  and  terrific,  at- 
tended with  incessant  corruscations  and  flashes  of  forked 
lightning.  As  the  storm  approached  nearer,  the  wind  veer- 
ed to  the  E.  7.  At  1.45  the  storm  cloud  assumed  an  almost 
pitchy  darkness,  curling,  rushing,  roaring  above,  below  a 
lurid  yellow  dashing  upward,  and  rapidly  approaching, 
striking  the  Mississippi  some  six  or  seven  miles  below  the 
city,  spreading  desolation  upon  each  side,  the  western  side 
being  the  centre  of  the  annulus.  At  this  time  a  blackness 
of  darkness  overspread  the  heavens,  and  when  the  annulus 
approached  the  city,  the  wind  suddenly  veered  to  the 
S.  E.  8,  attended  with  such  crashing  thunder  as  shook  the 
solid  earth.  At  2  the  tornado  10,  burst  upon  the  city, 
dashing  diagonally  through  it,  attended  with  such,  murky 
darkness,  roaring  and  crashing,  that  the  citizens  saw  not, 
heard  not,  knew  not  the  wide-wasting  destruction  around 
them.  The  rush  of  the  tornado  over  the  city  occupied  a 
space  of  time  not  exceeding  five  minutes,  the  destructive 
blast  not  more  than  a  few  seconds.  At  this  moment  the 
barometer  fell  to  29.37. 

The  storm  passed  over,  a  comparative  calm  ensues.  The 
affrighted  and  terror-smitten  inhabitants,  arouse  from  their 
stupor,  breathe  more  freely,  and  see  around  them  an  ap- 
palling spectacle.  Every  building  in  the  city  more  or  less 
injured,  many  utterly  demolished,  and  very  many  unroofed, 
with  their  walls  more  or  less  broken  and  thrown  down ; 
every  tree  and  fence  prostrated,  and 'the  streets  filled  with 
scattered  fragments  of  every  kind,  and  nearly  impassable. 

The  tornado,  in  its  course,  passed  over  Natchez  under 
the  hill,  and  swept  it  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  over- 
throwing, crashing  and  demolishing  almost  every  house, 
shop  and  building,  and  at  one  fell  swoop  reduced  that  part 
of  the  city  into  undistinguished  ruin.  Three  steamboats 


340  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

break  from  their  mooring;  their  upper  works  are  blown  off 
as  feathers ;  two  of  them  capsize  and  sink,  and  nearly  all 
their  crews  and  passengers  perish  in  the  storm  river  flood. 
More  than  sixty  flat-boats,  laden  with  up-country  produce, 
break  from  their  fastenings,  and  with  their  crews  dis- 
appear. 

In  the  fall  of  buildings,  on  the  hill  and  under  the  hill, 
men,  women  and  children  are  whelmed  ;  the  unhurt  citizens 
rush  to  their  rescue ;  many  are  dug  out  horribly  mangled 
and  dead ;  very  many  wounded,  and  bruised,  and  broken ; 
the  dead  are  buried  and  the  living  crared  for.  As  with  the 
heart  of  one  man,  physicians,  surgeons,  nurses  volunteer 
their  services  and  are  accepted ;  money,  provisions,  and  all 
necessaries  are  collected ;  hospitals  opened,  and  every  thing 
and  every  act  that  could  cheer  the  desponding,  revive  the 
almost  dying,  heal  the  broken,  are  promptly  administered. 
In  the  midst  of  the  gloom  and  wreck  the  bright  star  of  hope 
arises. 

The  news  of  this  calamity  flies  upon  the  wings  of  the 
wind  to  the  cities  and  towns,  above,  below ;  the  people  rush 
together;  resolutions  are  passed,  committees  formed;  money, 
provisions,  building  materials  are  collected,  and  in  swift 
steamboats  carried  to  the  suffering  city.  The  inland  towns 
and  villages  hear  of  the  storm,  and  become  one  with  the  river 
cities  and  towns,  in  their  acts  of  humanity,  sympathies  and 
brotherly  kindnesses  are  tendered  and  accepted,  seldom 
equalled  and  never  excelled,  eliciting  strength  of  character, 
warmth  of  feeling,  promptness  in  action  beyond  expectation, 
The  rubbish  of  fallen  houses  is  cleared  away,  obstructions 
removed,  building  materials  collected,  mechanics  work  with 
a  will ;  houses  are  rebuilt,  repaired  and  tenanted  in  short 
time ;  the  hum  of  business  begins  to  be  heard  in  our  streets ; 
the  city  revives. 

The  tornado  in  its  course  from  the  south  west  passed  cen- 
trally through  the  plantation  of  Walton  Smith,  Esq.,  on  the 


THE  NATCHEZ  TORNADO.  341 

western  side  of  the  Mississippi,  seven  miles  below  Natchez, 
devastating  every  thing  in  its  passage;  thence  tip  the  river, 
the  centre  of  the  annulus  being  on  the  western  side,  and  in 
its  passage  spread  destruction  on  the  plantations  and  forests 
for  half  a  mile  in  width  westwardly,  and  left  the  western 
bank  at  the  bend  above  Natchez,  crossing  above  and  con- 
tinuing its  devastating  course  to  the  north  east.  Oppo- 
site Natchez  the  centre  of  the  annulus  was  in  the  river  on 
the  western  side,  the  river  being  about  six-tenths  of  a  mile 
wide.  The  wind  that  desolated  Natchez  was  from  the  south 
east  blowing  inward  to  the  annulus,  and  onward,  forming  a 
curve  as  it  touched  the  annulus. 

In  the  course  of  the  tornado  over  the  city  in  hundreds  of 
instances  proof  irresistible  was  shown,  that  in  the  rush  of  the 
storm  over  a  house,  the  external  atmospheric  pressure  was  so 
taken  off  that  the  atmosphere  within  the  house  suddenly  ex- 
panded so  as  to  force  an  outlet  either  by  blowing  off  the  roof, 
bursting  open  doors  and  windows,  driving  outward  gable 
ends,  or  the  whole  or  parts  of  walls ;  on  the  contrary,  where 
leeward  doors  or  windows  or  trap  doors  of  the  roofs  were 
open,  no  such  destructive  effects  were  produced.  For  proof 
of  this  one  meteorological  fact,  the  following  cases  out  of 
many,  will  suffice. 

L  The  garret  of  a  brick  house  occupied  by  Thomas  Ar- 
mat,  Esq.,  as  an  office,  was  closely  shut  up,  both  ends  burst- 
ed  outward,  and  such  was  the  force  of  the  explosive  power, 
that  some  of  the  bricks  of  the  windward  end  were  thrown 
upon  a  terrace  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  end,  and  at  a  dis- 
tance of  not  less  than  twenty  feet  in  the  face  of  the  storm. 

2.  A  brick  house  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street,  belong- 
ing to  John  Fletcher,  had  the  leeward  gable  end  thrown  out, 
the  windward  end  remaining  uninjured. 

3.  The  windward  gable  end  of  a  large  house  adjoining 
the  Commercial  Bank,  bursted  outward  against  the  face  of 
the  storm,  the  leeward  end  was  uninjured. 


342  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

4.  The  gable  ends  of  a  large  three  story  brick  house 
on  Franklin  street,  owned  by  Rowan  and  Cartwright,  were 
thrown  outward  with  great  force. 

5.  The  front  ends  (leeward  to  the  storm)  of  two  brick 
stores  owned  by  Eli  Montgomery,  were  thrown  outward 
with  great  force,  the  windward  ends  being  uninjured. 

6.  Another  large  brick  house,  near  the  last  just  mentioned, 
owned  by  Watt,  Burke  &  Co.  had  the  leeward  side  nearly 
demolished. 

7.  Another   brick  house  adjoining  the  last  mentioned, 
had  the  windward  gable  end  thrown  outward. 

8.  The  roof  of  the  Theatre,  a  large  brick  building,  had 
the  entire  roof  blown  off  and  thrown  some  ten  feet  forward, 
and  the  walls  demolished. 

9.  The  leeward  walls  of  two  front  rooms  of  the  Tremont 
House  on  Wall  street,  were  thrown  outward  with   great 
force,  without  destroying  or  moving  the  furniture  therein, 
and  where  the  storm  could  have  no  access. 

10.  The  roof  of  the  fire-proof  brick  office  of  the  Probate 
Court,  exploded  to  windward,  that  side,  it  is  presumed,  being 
the  weakest. 

11.  The  gable  ends  of  a  large  brick  store  on  Main  and 
Pearl  streets,  were  thrown  outward  with  great  force. 

12.  The  southern  side,  and  the  northern  and  western  ga- 
ble ends  of  the  brick  Insurance  buildings  on  Pearl  and  Mar- 
ket streets,  were  thrown  outward  with  such  force  as  to 
nearly  demolish  the  building. 

13.  The  roof  of  Dr.  Merrill's  house  on  State  street  was 
saved  by  the  explosive  power  bursting  open  a  large  trap  door 
in  the  roof,  thereby  making  an  outlet  for  the  expanded  air. 

14.  The  leeward  wall  of  a  new  wooden  house  owned  by 
Rhasa  Parker,  on  Washington  street,  was  thrown  outward 
by  the  explosive  power,  the  windward  side  end  remaining 
unbroken  excepting  the  glass  of  the  windows.     Hundreds 
of  facts,  if  need  be,  might  be  adduced  to  prove  that   when 


THE  NATCHEZ  TORNADO.  343 

there  were  no  sufficient  openings  to  let  out  the  expanded 
air,  the  roof,  or  some  other  part  of  the  house  gave  way, 
most  generally  to  leeward. 

The  quantity  of  rain  that  fell  during  the  passage  of  the 
tornado  over  the  city,  was  only  83.100  of  an  inch,  holding 
in  suspension  so  much  mud  and  minute  particles  of  leaves 
and  other  vegetable  matter  as  to  be  impervious  to  sight,  and 
leaving  a  thick  coating  upon  whatsoever  it  came  in  contact. 

This  brief  account  of  the  tornado  will  be  closed  by  pre- 
senting to  those  who  are  skilled  in  the  physiology  of  plants 
for  further  investigation,  the  following  facts. 

The  effects  of  the  storm  upon  the  leaves  and  buds  of 
plants  was  in  a  manner  to  sear  them,  abstracting  or  destroy- 
ing so  much  of  their  vitality,  that  such  as  did  not  die  out- 
right, were  crisped,  and  their  growth  so  suspended,  that 
it  was  for  ten  or  more  days  before  they  resuscitated  and 
began  again  to  grow.  Some  very  thriving  grape  cuttings 
in  the  garden  of  the  writer  of  this  paper,  were  killed,  and 
the  old  vines  stunted.  Even  the  leaves  of  the  succulent 
Morus  Multicaulis  appeared  as  if  an  eastern  sirocco  had 
passed  over  them.  A  luxuriant  arbor  vita  in  the  writer's 
yard  appears  blighted  and  dying.  Fruit  trees  and  grass  and 
weeds  put  on  the  same  appearance.  H.  TOOLEY. 


Storm  at  Natchez— Interesting  Particulars — Esptfs  Theory. 

181.'  We  are  kindly  allowed  to  make  an  extract  from  a 
letter  of  Professor  Forshey,  at  Natchez,  to  Drs.  Dodge  and 
Warder,  of  this  city,  giving  some  interesting  facts  in  rela- 
tion to  the  storm  at  that  place,  and  its  bearing  on  the  theory 
of  Mr.  Espy.  The  reader  will  find  among  them,  some 
things,  which,  if  we  mistake  not,  have  never  been  deter- 
mined before  by  accurate  observation.  The  fact  of  the 
outward  explosions  of  houses,  desks,  &c.,  is  to  us  a  curious 
phenomenon.  —  Cincinnati  Gazette. 


344  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

"  Every  thing  seems  to  have  corroborated  Mr.  Espy's 
1  Philosophy  of  Storms/  and  every  thing  to  militate  against 
every  other  explanation  of  such  violent  atmospheric  com- 
motion. In  the  first  place,  the  oppressive  heat  of  the  fore- 
noon, and  particularly  just  before  the  storm,  resulting  from 
the  evolution  of  the  heat  from  compression  in  the  advance 
annulus  of  the  storm.  Second,  the  roaring  sound  of  the 
wind  from  east  to  south  west,  gradually  as  the  tornado  was 
passing,  keeping  constantly  toward  the  centre  of  the  track. 
Third,  the  extreme  depression  of  the  barometer  while  the 
storm  was  raging,  and  the  explosion  outward  of  nearly  every 
room  and  building  in  the  city.  Very  often,  perhaps,  in  one 
hundred  cases,  the  gables  of  houses  both  blew  out,  even  in 
the  very  teeth  of  a  wind  raging  at  several  hundred  feet  per 
second !  Close  hatches  were  blown  open  upward,  and  a 
desk  containing  only  one  and  a  half  cubic  feet  of  atmos- 
phere to  each  apartment,  burst  the  locks  off  its  three  doors. 
Fourth,  trees  were  pulled  up  by  the  roots  and  carried  sev- 
eral yards,  and  then  fell  without  breaking  their  limbs;  and 
this  happened  with  the  largest  trees.  Men  were  picked  up 
and  carried  to  a  distance  and  let  down  without  violence  or 
injury. 

"On  the  two  margins  of  the  storm,  the  limbs  and  leaves 
of  trees  fell  in  great  numbers,  and  the  tin  from  the  roofs  of 
buildings  was  found  twenty  miles  hence,  and  a  piece  of  a 
steamboat  window  was  recognised  thirty  miles  north  east 
from  Natchez.  Fifth,  the  position  of  trees  was  demonstration 
complete,  in  the  absence  of  other  evidence.  The  nearer 
the  axis  of  the  tornado,  the  nearer  were  their  bearings  par- 
allel with  that  axis,  and  the  more  remote,  the  nearer  per- 
pendicular, while  those  that  point  to  the  direction  from 
which  the  storm  came,  or  cross  a  line  perpendicular  to  the 
axis,  lie  beneath  those  that  point  in  the  forward  direction 
of  the  same.  This,  you  know,  is  the  necessary  position 
upon  the  hypothesis  of  concentric  motion,  while  a  cur- 


THE  NATCHEZ  TORNADO.  345 

rent  upward  is  of  necessity  a  consequence  of  concentric 
motion. 

"  The  exact  converse  of  this  statement  is  necessary  on  the 
hypothesis  of  gyration.  The  nearer  the  circumference,  the 
nearer  parallel  with  the  axis  of  motion,  and  the  nearer  the 
axis,  the  nearer  perpendicular  to  the  same.  This  is  untrue 
of  all  I  have  yet  seen  of  this  tornado,  and  I  have  seen  little 
else  since  its  occurrence." 

Professor  Forshay,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  also  says :  — 
"  The  narrow  limits  of  a  letter,  leave  me  room  but  for  a 
few  words,  in  regard  to  the  special  features  of  the  tornado. 
It  is  enough  to  say,  that  had  the  heavens  obeyed  Mr.  Es- 
py's  summons,  and  every  wind  rushed  to  the  point  he  as- 
signed it,  and  had  the  Omnipotent  clothed  him  for  the  mo- 
ment with  his  own  dread  powers,  the  demonstrations  of  his 
'Philosophy  of  Storms'  could  not  have  been  snblimer  or 
more  triumphant.  I  have  done  nothing  but  examine  its 
track,  and  collect  information  since  ;  and  while  I  have  seen 
thousands  of  corroborations  of  his  theory,  I  have  sought  in 
vain  for  things  it  could  not  account  for.  The  whole  city 
of  Natchez  is  blown  towards  the  track  I  have  specified ; 
while  the  bearings  of  trees  and  houses  falling  more  west- 
wardly,  are  invariably  superimposed  by  those  that  fell  more 
eastwardly. 

"  I  find,  by  investigating  somewhat,  that  strange  coinci- 
dences have  been  happening  here  in  regard  to  hurricanes, 
and  that  we  live  in  a  region  very  much  exposed  to  them. 
In  May,  1823-4,  two  tornadoes  travelled  the  same  track 
precisely,  with  an  interval  of  exactly  a  year.  In  1832,  on 
the  7th  of  May,  the  Kingston  tornado  fifteen  miles  from 
Natchez.  It  is  confidently  asserted,  that  those  of  1823-4. 
occurred  on  the  7th  of  May.  If  so,  the  concurrence  of  four 
storms  is  very  curious." 

*  44 


346  .        PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Water  Spouts. 

[From  the  Philadelphia  Saturday  Chronicle.] 

182.  A  gentleman  has  handed  us  the  following  extract  of 
a  letter,  which  he  received  last  summer  from  a  friend  who 
is  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  West  India  Islands,  dated 

At  Sea,  August  14th,  1836. 

IC  Captain  !  Spouts  over  the  lee  bow  !  "  cried  the  voice  of 
a  sailor  down  the  companion  ladder,  yesterday,  at  two, 
P.  M.,  while  sailing  along  the  Gulf  stream,  in  about  lati- 
tude 25°  30'. 

What  a  singular  and  yet  awful  part  of  the  ocean  is  the 
Gulf  of  Florida  !  The  waters  are  here  everlastingly  rush- 
ing from  the  Caribbean  sea  and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  towards 
the  more  northern  Atlantic ;  and  they  roll  in  a  stream  or 
volume  of  unfathomable  depth,  varying  from  eighty  to  a 
hundred  miles  in  breadth,  and  being  from  six  to  ten  degrees 
warmer  than  the  waters  on  either  side.  Sometimes  the 
stream  travels  at  two  knots  an  hour,  sometimes  at  four,  and 
sometimes  it  runs,  in  places,  with  the  velocity  of  a  mill  tail. 
Storms,  squalls,  hurricanes,  water  spouts,  lightning  and 
thunder,  give  continual  and  terrific  variety  to  this  stupen- 
dous ocean  current.  Truly,  it  is  grand,  in  the  deep  silence 
of  a  calm  midnight,  to  pace  the  deck,  and  listen  to  the 
roaring,  rushing  noise  of  the  Gulf  stream,  as  it  travels  on 
its  ceaseless  course.  Though  this  noise  is  partly  unac- 
countable, yet  it  is  mighty  as  the  roaring  of  a  cataract  — 
ay,  even  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  But  to  return  to  my 
subject. 

The  cry  of  "  Spouts  over  the  lee  bow"  naturally  excited 
some  little  alarm  amongst  the  passengers.  The  captain  was 
on  deck  in  a  moment.  I  was  anxious  to  witness  the  mag- 
nificient  phenomena,  and  therefore  followed  him.  On  our 
arrival  there,  the  spectacle  presented  by  the  heavens  to  lee- 


WATER  SPOUTS.  347 

ward,  was  indeed  (to  me  at  least)  of  an  imposing  and  aw- 
ful character.  A  dark  tloud,  which  every  moment  became 
blacker  and  blacker,  was  fast  extending  over  the  leeward 
sky.  From  the  lower  part  of  this  ominous  and  stormy  cur- 
tain, projected  three  jet  black  columns,  which  kept  curving 
and  swinging  backwards  and  forwards,  as  if  they  were  en- 
dowed with  life. 

These  were  the  grand  and  mysterious  hydrostatics  of  na- 
ture ;  and  we  were  rapidly  travelling  into  the  influence  of 
their  vast  machinery.  At  this  fearfully  interesting  crisis, 
we  approximated  within  half  a  mile  of  the  nearest.  So 
sudden  had  been  their  formation,  that  no  time  was  allowed 
to  put  the  ship  about.  We  felt,  or  fancied  we  could  feel,  a 
whirling  motion  of  the  atmosphere ;  and  more  than  one  of 
us  imagined  that  we  were  already  in  the  power  of  the  fatal 
tornadoes  and  their  vortex. 

"  Brace  round  the  yards  !  come,  be  quick  !  haul  aft  and 
load  the  gun,  some  hands,"  cried  the  captain,  while  he  him- 
self assisted  in  performing  these  important  services. 

Every  second  was  of  consequence,  a  minute  or  so  might 
have  sealed  our  doom.  On  —  on  —  went  the  ship;  and  be- 
fore she  turned,  we  were  frightfully  near  to  the  dreadful 
spouts.  Onward  and  downward  these  gigantic  hose  pipes 
of  cloud  and  water  uncoiled.  Now,  they  curved  like  a 
reaper's  hook.  Anon,  they  twisted  like  a  serpent's  tail !  I 
could  imagine  that  two  of  them  were  at  least  a  thousand 
feet  in  length,  with  a  body  as  thick  as  the  Washington 
monument  at  Baltimore.  Their  contortions  and  convulsions 
were  interesting  and  wonderful,  and  I  found  it  impossible 
to  withdraw  my  attention,  even  for  a  moment,  from  the 
grand  phenomena;  at  length,  the  ship  was  put  about,  and 
we  began  to  increase  our  distance  from  what  we  had  re- 
garded as  a  watery  death.  The  spouts  straightened  out, 
and  the  lower  ends  of  two  of  them  approached  the  surface 
of  the  deep.  The  sea  beneath  rose  in  a  hillock  of  waves, 


348  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

as  if  attracted  or  twisted  into  a  rising  tumulus  by  the 
cloud,  or  formed  by  the  whirlwind:  Arid  now,  two  of  the 
columns  were  perpendicular,  resting  upon  a  mount  of  foam- 
ing, roaring,  waves — a  perfect 

"  Hell  of  waters." 

I  should  say,  that  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea,  these  columns  were  transparent  as 
crystal,  and  the  water  might  be  seen  swiftly  travelling  up 
them.  This  appearance  lasted  for  six  minutes  and  a  half, 
the  third  spout  never  reaching  the  sea  at  all.  Meanwhile, 
the  entire  aqueous  pageant  was  slowly  and  magnificently 
moving  towards  the  north;  but  at  last,  the  two  columns 
broke,  one  after  the  other,  near  the  sea.  Within  a  few 
seconds,  the  rain  descended  in  such  torrents  that  I  can  only 
compare  its  fury  to  the  playing  of  ten  thousand  millions  of 
fire  engines,  pointed  perpendicularly  down  from  the  sky. 
Ten  minutes  after,  scarcely  a  cloud  was  to  be  seen ;  and  the 
sun  blazed  with  a  heat  intense  enough  to  "  broil  a  beef  steak 
upon  a  cannon." 

And  thus  ends  our  adventure  with  the  water  spouts. 


From  M.  Peltier,  on  Trombes. 

183.  Towards  the  end  of  August,  1838,  about  3,  P.  M. 
a  tornado  passed  near  Providence,  in  Rhode  Island.  The 
rain  was  falling  says  Mr.  Z.  Allen,,  in  a  letter  to  Pro- 
fessor Hare,  with  violence,  when  he  saw  a  black  cloud,  in 
the  midst  of  other  brilliant  and  fleecy  clouds,  assume  a  ter- 
rible aspect,  form  itself  into  a  black  elongated  cone,  extend- 
ing down  to  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

Whilst  he  observed  the  progress  of  this  cloud  and  of  the 
cone  which  it  led  along  in  its  train,  and  which  touched  the 
ground  with  its  lower  extremity,  he  saw  black  bodies,  like 
a  flight  of  black  birds,  with  wings  displayed,  fall  on  the 
ground  as  if  projected  from  the  lower  part  of  the  clouds. 


TORNADO  NEAR  PROVIDENCE.  349 

In  the  midst  of  these  bodies  he  saw  some  larger  ones 
which  he  recognised  to  be  portions  of  boards,  falling  ob- 
liquely. The  tornado  came  within  a  few  fathoms  of  where 
he  stood,  and  destroyed  a  row  of  buildings,  whose  roofs  ap- 
peared to  open,  and  in  a  moment  to  rise  up  in  the  air. 

The  whole  house  appeared  to  crumble,  and  to  become 
but  a  mass  of  ruins  in  motion,  which  one  could  see  through 
the  cloud  which  enveloped  it  as  a  cloak  of  vapor. 

At  the  moment  when  the  obscure  end  of  the  cone  passed 
over  the  crumbled  building,  all  the  debris  appeared  to  be 
shot  into  the  air,  as  if  from  an  exploded  mine.  When  the 
tornado  arrived  over  the  river,  it  produced  a  circle  of  foam, 
about  three  hundred  feet  in  diameter  ;  within  this  circle  the 
water  was  agitated  as  that  of  an  immense  cauldron  in  ebul- 
lition. 

When  one  was  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  cloud,  it  ap- 
peared as  a  vast  umbrella,  of  which  the  descending  cone 
was  the  handle,  losing  itself  in  the  foam  of  the  waves  of  the 
river.  The  waves  rose  and  swelled  up  as  if  by  magic 
power,  when  the  cone  passed  over  the  waters. 

Twice  he  remarked  a  stream  of  light  or  of  the  electric  fluid, 
darted  across  the  column  of  vapor,  which  appeared  to  him  to 
serve  as  a  conductor  between  the  water  and  the  cloud.  After 
this  lightning,  the  foam  of  the  water  appeared  immediately 
diminished  for  a  moment,  as  if  the  agitation  of  the  surface 
of  the  water  was  calmed  for  a  moment  by  the  electric  dis- 
charge. 

The  motion  of  the  tornado  was  almost  in  a  right  line  in 
the  direction  of  the  wind  [from  west  to  east]  and  its  velocity 
was  about  eight  or  ten  miles  an  hour.  Although  he  was  at 
the  exterior  limit  of  the  circle  of  the  tornado,  he  felt  no  ex- 
traordinary gust,  he  only  perceived  the  same  current  which 
existed,  before  the  arrival  of  the  meteor. 

He  remarked  also  that  the  temperature  did  not  appear 
more  elevated  in  the  air  neigboring  to  the  borders  of  the 


350  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

whirlwind,  though  that  would  have  been  indispensable,  to 
produce  the  rarefaction  necessary  to  cause  an  ascendant 
current.  The  tornado,  after  having  traversed  the  river,  con- 
tinued its  route,  carried  off  every  thing  which  it  met,  and 
he  lost  sight  of  it,  in  the  midst  of  the  vapors,  and  clouds  of 
every  kind  which  obscured  the  sky. 

Mr.  Tillinghast,  who  was  on  a  hill,  says  the  cone  was 
sometimes  so  prolonged  that  it  touched  the  earth,  at  other 
times  it  passed  over  spaces  without  touching  them.  At  each 
contact  with  the  soil,  or  with  terrestrial  bodies,  it  suddenly 
elevated  a  cloud  of  dust,  and  fragments  of  broken  bodies, 
which  were  lost  in  the  cone. 

A  pond  was  made  almost  dry,  trees  were  torn  up  by  the 
roots  and  despoiled  of  their  leaves  and  their  branches,  the 
houses  were  unroofed,  and  the  roofs  carried  off  or  broken, 
the  farms  lost  their  grain,  their  fruits,  and  their  fowls.  The 
human  species  were  not  free  from  this  disaster.  Two  wo- 
men were  carried  off  from  their  carriage,  and  transported 
over  a  wall  into  a  neighboring  field.  In  the  same  village  a 
cellar  door  and  its  frame  were  lifted  off,  and  deposited  on 
one  of  the  sides  of  their  former  place,  though  this  side  was 
next  the  wind. 

This  effect  appeared  the  more  extraordinary  as  the  wind 
coming  against  this  inclined  plane,  ought  to  have  pressed 
this  door  against  its  foundations.  The  author  of  this  ac- 
count, attributing  this  effect  to  the  dilatation  of  the  wind, 
adds,  in  consequence  of  this  dilatation  of  the  air,  which 
took  off  this  door  and  the  frame,  a  part  of  a  roof  on  the  side 
from  the  wind  burst  open,  while  that  on  the  windward  side 
was  not  damaged,  (p.  363.) 

The  author  will  add  here  that  Mrs.  Tillinghast,  of  Provi- 
dence, told  him  that  she  watched  the  tornado  after  it  passed 
on  to  the  east,  and  saw  two  showers  of  rain  falling  from  the 
cloud  to  which  the  trunk  was  attached,  one  on  the  south 
and  the  other  on  the  north  of  the  trunk,  and  she  particu- 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  351 

larly  noticed  that  these  showers  did  not  fall  perpendicularly, 
bat  both  sloped  inwards  towards  the  spout  below. 

184.  On  the  13th  September  1835,  a  tornado  ravaged  the 
commune  of  Caux.    Its  march  was  from  the  S.  W.  to  N.  E. 
tearing  down  trees  and  overturning  houses.     It  carried  off 
all  the  water  of  a  pond  arid  all  the  fishes  which  it  contained, 
and  threw  them  down  a  league  and  a  half  from  there,  to 
the  great  astonishment  of  the  persons  who  witnessed  this 
ichthyological  rain.     (Peltier  sur  Trombes,  p.  42.) 

185.  In  a  tornado  which  ravaged  the  environs  of  Carca- 
sonne,  on  the  3d  of  November.  1780,  as  it  passed  over  a 
chateau,  it  furrowed  and  raised  up  the  pavements  of  some 
of  the  apartments,  and  in  another  chamber  this  effect  was 
produced  only  in  the  centre,  and  in  the  same  chamber  piles 
of  china  ware  placed   around  were  undisturbed.      Large 
stones  were  transported  to  the  roof  of  the  chateau,  and  a 
large  tree  was  left  on  the  roof  of  a  peasant's  house.     The 
tornado  was  preceded  and  followed  by  no  rain  at  Leiic,  but 
at  the  place  where  it  commenced,  and  also  at  the  village  of 
Villarbe,  there  fell  a  great  flood  of  rain.     (p.  48.) 

186.  On  Good  Friday,  1666,  there  fell  a  great  quantity  of 
little  (merlans)  sea  fish,  of  the  size  of  the  little  finger,  in  a 
field  at  Cranstead,  near  Wrotham,  in  the  county  of  Kent. 
This  place  is  distant  from  the  sea,  and  from  any  large  piece 
of  water.     At  this  moment  there  was  a  great  tempest,  ac- 
companied by  thunder  and  rain.     (p.  75.) 

187.  Some  of  these  meteors  have  been  known  to  encoun- 
ter ships  in  their  march,  and  then  the  column  of  water 
which  constituted  them,  and  which  had  just  risen  from  the 
sea,  instead  of  continuing  to  rise,  flowed  down  on  the  ship ; 
such  is  the  fact  related  by  Capt.  Melling,  of  Boston ;  and  in 
this  case  it  fell  in  such  abundance  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty  the  captain   preserved  himself  from  being  washed 
overboard.     He  states  that  the  water  which  entered  his  nose 
and  mouth  was  entirely  sweet  and  fresh ;  and  all  sailors 


352  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

who  have  ever  tasted  the  water  in  similar  cases  affirm  that 
it  is  fresh,     (p.  76.) 

188.  White  squalls  (les  grains  blancs)  are  very  rare,  but 
they  are  sometimes  met  with  between  the  tropics,  especially 
near  elevated   lands;    they  are  generally  violent,  and  of 
short  duration.     They  often  take  place  when  the  sky  is 
clear,  and  without  any  atmospheric  circumstance  giving  no- 
tice of  their  approach.     The  only  thing  which  indicates 
their  proximity,  is  the  boiling  of  the  sea,  which  is  very 
much   agitated  by  the  violence   of  the  winds.     Many  of 
these  squalls,  which  commence  either  by  a  little  cloud  or 
even  without  any  visible  cloud,  are  very  soon  accompanied 
by  violent  rains  and  thick  clouds,     (p.  101.) 

189.  The  reader  will  be  able  to  form  some  idea  of  the 
electric  theory  of  M.  Peltier  from  the  following  very  brief 
extract,  p.  145. 

When  the  cone  is  formed  entirely  of  the  vapors  of  the 
cloud,  and  when  its  specific  gravity  does  not  oppose  itself 
to  its  descent  to  the  ground,  or  near  the  ground,  the  de- 
scending cone  will  have  a  great  power  of  attraction,  and  it 
is  not  till  after  they  have  exchanged  their  opposite  elec- 
tricities, that  the  bodies  attracted  will  be  repulsed.  But  if, 
on  the  contrary,  the  descending  cone  is  maintained  at  a 
great  height,  if  it  is  vapors  or  dust  raised  from  the  earth, 
which  form  the  lower  part,  and  go  to  neutralize  the  elec- 
tricity of  the  clouds  at  that  distance, -the  terrestrial  objects 
placed  near  the  ascending  cone,  being  electrized  in  the  same 
manner  as  it,  will  be  repelled  and  projected  from  the  cen- 
tre to  the  circumference,  with  a  violence  proportioned  to  the 
extent  and  force  of  the  electric  tension,  which  the  ascend- 
ing cone  possesses.  Thus  two  sorts  of  tensions  may  exist 
in  the  lower  portion  of  spouts,  according  to  their  origin, 
and  may  thus  produce  two  contrary  effects  on  terrestrial 
objects. 

If  this  portion  is  a  dependence  of  the  cloud,  the  terres- 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  353 

trial  bodies  will  be  attracted ;  if  it  is  formed  of  vapors  or 
of  objects  taken  up  from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  it  will 
repel  all  the  neighboring  objects,  since  they  will  all  have 
the  electricity  developed  by  the  same  influence.  It  may 
happen,  and  it  often  does  happen,  that  during  the  continu- 
ance of  a  spout,  these  two  conditions  present  themselves 
successively  according  to  the  state  of  the  soil,  or  the  spe- 
cific levity  of  the  clouds  which  lend  themselves  or  oppose 
themselves  to  descent. 

It  is  sufficient  to  read  some  accounts  of  these  spouts,  to 
be  assured  that  the  force  is  sometimes  attractive  and  some- 
times repulsive;  and  in  the  first  case  the  objects  are  thrown 
towards  a  centre,  and  in  the  second,  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. The  forest  of  water  (bosquets]  at  the  foot  of  the 
spouts,  is  the  product  of  attraction  at  first,  then  of  repul- 
sion, when  the  drops  of  water  raised  up  have  changed  their 
electricity. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  lowering  of  one  of  the  clouds, 
may  vary  from  one  spout  to  another,  though  it  may  be  the 
product  of  the  same  power.  In  the  meteor  of  storms,  a 
cloud  but  little  elevated  above  the  ground,  and  very  highly 
charged  with  electricity,  may  be  attracted  by  the  contrary 
electricity,  which  is  accumulated  on  a  portion  of  the  soil 
underneath  (en  regard)  and  so  much  the  more  as  the  ground 
is  more  elevated,  humid  and  good  conductor;  the  electric 
tension  of  the  soil  reacts  on  that  of  the  cloud,  neutralizes 
the  reaction,  which  the  lower  portion  produced  on  the  rest 
of  the  electricity  of  the  cloud,  as  the  lower  plate  of  a 
condenser  neutralizes  the  reaction  of  the  stratum  of  elec- 
tricity of  the  upper  plate.  This  reaction  of  the  lower  elec- 
tric stratum  of  the  cloud  being  neutralized,  a  new  commu- 
nication is  made  to  the  inferior  surface,  a  greater  mass  of 
statical  electicity  is  accumulated  there,  and  so  in  succes- 
sion ;  during  which  the  exterior  electric  charge  is  augmented, 
the  cloud,  being  a  movable  body,  is  attracted  and  ap- 
45 


354  PHILOSOPHY  OF   STORMS. 

preaches  the  earth,  a  quantity  depending  on  its  specific 
gravity,  and  on  the  square  of  the  accumulated  charge. 
Having  arrived  at  a  certain  distance,  the  attraction  of  the 
two  electricities  preponderates  over  the  resistance  of  the  air ; 
a  discharge  takes  place,  the  cloud  rises,  until  a  new  com- 
munication of  electricity  takes  place,  producing  an  equal 
state  and  an  equal  result.  The  electric  change,  as  we  see, 
is  made  between  the  atmospheres  which  surround  the  bodies, 
it  is  the  positive  and  exterior  quantities  of  the  cloud,  which 
are  neutralized,  with  an  equal  portion  of  negative  and  ex- 
terior electricity  of  the  soil.  But  the  sphere  of  electricity, 
which  surrounds,  is  not  formed  by  all  the  electricity  which 
it  contains,  as  that  of  a  globe  of  metal,  which  does  not  hold 
any  portion  in  its  interior;  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  often  only 
a  very  small  portion  of  the  whole,  a  portion  which  is  de- 
pendent on  the  interior  reactions  and  conductibility.  A 
cloud  being  composed  of  a  multitude  of  distinct  bodies,  of 
particules  of  vapor  called  vesicular,  each  of  these  vesicules 
has  its  electric  sphere,  which  is  inherent  in  it;  according  to 
their  proximity,  or,  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  ac- 
cording to  the  density  of  the  cloud,  the  reaction  of  these 
spheres,  the  one  on  the  other,  repels  to  the  periphery  a  part 
of  their  electricity  until  the  exterior  reaction  is  equal  to 
the  interior  reactions.  This  exterior  quantity  will  be  so 
much  the  smaller  as  the  insulation  of  the  particles  of  vapor 
is  more  perfect. 

If  the  insulation  is  great,  if  the  radiation  towards  the 
periphery  is  weak,  there  will  result  a  great  tension,  and 
consequently  a  great  attraction,  which  will  bring  the  clouds 
near  the  ground,  without  producing  a  discharge  sufficient 
to  render  the  specific  levity  of  the  cloud  predominant.  It 
is  to  this  weak  exterior  reaction,  that  we  must  refer  the 
division  of  one  spout  into  several. 

When  the  periphery  possesses  a  sufficient  quantity  of  free 
electricity,  which  acts  by  repulsion,  on  all  the  electricities, 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  355 

of  the  same  nature  of  the  vesicules,  the  whole  of  the  va- 
pors is  maintained,  in  one  body  ;  if  this  force  is  insufficient, 
the  interior  repulsions  obtain  the  preponderance,  and  the 
spout  is  divided.  We  shall  frequently  find  these  re-unions, 
and  these  divisions,  when  we  treat  of  clouds  in  a  special 
manner. 

Thus  when  each  of  the  vesicules  of  vapor,  preserves  a 
very  great  tension,  and  their  insulation  the  one  from  the 
other  prevents  that  of  the  cloud  from  being  considerable, 
the  whole  of  the  cloud  is  attracted  and  not  merely  the  elec- 
tric charge  of  the  surface ;  the  specific  gravity  of  the  cloud 
is  overcome  by  this  attraction,  the  cloud  lowers  and  ap- 
proaches the  earth.  While  this  movement  is  effected,  the 
attraction  increases  in  a  proportion  greater  than  the  prox- 
imity, as  it  increases  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distance ; 
the  cloud  continues  then  to  descend,  and  it  would  descend 
with  great  velocity,  if  each  vesicular  particle  could  receive 
rapidly,  the  electric  quantities  necessary  to  replace  those 
which  escape  by  accelerated  radiation,  and  which  become 
so  much  more  indispensable  as  the  density  of  the  air  aug- 
ments. 

The  feeble  conductibility  of  the  clouds  does  not,  without 
slowness,  difficulty,  and  inequality,  permit  the  electricity 
of  the  superior  clouds  to  arrive  into  the  parts  nearer  the 
earth.  The  electric  diffusion,  cannot  be  returned,  but  very 
unequally,  in  bodies  so  varied,  in  their  forms,  and  in  the 
relations  (rapports)  of  their  constituent  parts. 

The  disposition  and  constitution  of  the  clouds,  do  not 
permit  but  very  rarely  the  descent  of  a  portion  of  cloud 
down  to  the  ground,  principally  in  our  country,  for  as  soon 
as  the  density  of  the  cloud  permits  a  tolerable  conduction, 
the  electric  tension  transfers  itself  to  the  exterior,  the  dis- 
charges take  place  in  mass,  and  the  cloud  rises.  It  is  then 
a  storm  and  not  a  spout. 

We  see  then  that  a  union  of  circumstances  very  favora- 


356  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

ble,  is  necessary,  that  the  particles  of  vapor  may  have  an 
insulation  necessary  to  produce  the  lowering  of  the  cloud 
down  to  the  earth,  without  its  making  a  discharge  of  the 
electricity,  whose  attraction  counterbalances  the  levity  of 
the  cloud.  It  is  necessary,  also,  that  a  rapid  evaporation 
should  produce,  in  a  little  time,  a  considerable  quantity  of 
electricity,  and  that  there  should  be  a  very  great  calm  in 
the  atmosphere  to  preserve  it. 

These  circumstances  not  being  common  beyond  the  trop- 
ical heats,  the  spouts  would  be  infinitely  rare  in  our  regions, 
if  a  secondary  cause  did  not  come  to  determine  the  forma- 
tion. This  secondary  cause  is  the  presence  of  a  cloud  or  a 
group  of  clouds  more  elevated,  possessing  the  same  electri- 
city as  the  inferior  group. 

The  action  of  the  superior  clouds,  repelling  the  inferior 
ones  facilitates  their  descent,  it  will  be  sufficient  that  these 
latter  should  have  the  constitution  proper  to  preserve  a 
strong  electric  tension,  and  the  conductibility  there  be  very 
feeble,  that  they  may  be  drawn  down  to  the  very  ground, 
and  thus  form,  the  conducting  and  intermittent  column, 
which  is  called  water  spout. 

In  fine,  observations  carefully  made  teach  us  that  the 
extremity  of  the  cone  extends  or  shortens  itself  according  to 
localities,  that  it  balances  and  undulates,  leaps  from  one 
place  to  another,  from  one  cluster  of  trees  to  another,  and 
abandons  moist  places,  not  without  manifest  resistance; 
that  in  the  centre  is  seen  a  canal,  transparent,  according  to 
some,  luminous,  according  to  others ;  that  in  all  there  is 
an  intestine  movement,  here  and  there,  sometimes  direct, 
sometimes  giratory,  varying  without  ceasing,  and  from  one 
portion  to  another,  as  we  see  in  electrified  smoke.  Every 
observer  has  expressed  the  impression  which  he  experienced, 
and  in  reality,  when  the  approximation  of  the  vapors  to 
the  extremity  of  the  cone  is  such,  that  there  results  a  real 
liquidity,  this  liquid  and  transparent  medium  remains  sus- 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  357 

pended  between  the  rest  of  the  cloud  and  the  sea ;  at  other 
times,  on  the  contrary,  the  distance  of  the  particles  of  va- 
por is  so  great,  that  the  electric  communication,  cannot  be 
made  but  by  little  discharges,  of  which  the  multiplicity  of 
sparks  produces  a  hissing  noise  and  the  phosphorescent 
light,  which  certain  observers  have  seen.  The  phenomena 
of  statical  and  dynamical  electricity,  explain  all  the  parts 
of  the  meteor,  whatever  may  be  the  variety  of  its  forms, 
and  of  its  effects,  without  having  recourse  to  any  hypothetic 
creation ;  it  is  sufficient  to  keep  in  mind  the  electric  tension, 
its  reproduction,  the  conductibility  of  localities,  and  their 
saturation.  Since  we  now  know  all  the  atmospheric  cir- 
cumstances which  produce  electric  forces,  and  how  to  dis- 
tinguish the  primitive  causes  from  the  secondary,  we  will 
give  an  account  of  the  spout  which  devastated  the  Com- 
munes of  Fontenay  and  Chatenay,  [near  Paris]  on  the  18th 
of  June.  1839,  and  shew  that  every  where  the  electric  power 
was  the  primitive  cause  of  the  meteor,  and  of  the  disasters 
which  it  produced,  disasters  which  were  augmented  by 
secondary  causes,  by  the  impetuous  winds  which  accom- 
panied the  storm-clouds,  and  by  the  suddenness  of  the 
blasts,  p.  145  —  150. 

190.  On  the  18th  June,  1839,  in  the  morning,  thick 
vapors  had  risen  in  the  horizon,  and  formed  a  long  band, 
which  extended,  from  the  south  to  the  north  east  of  the  hill 
of  Chatenay.  The  atmosphere  was  warm  and  dull.  A 
little  before  ten  o'clock  some  claps  of  thunder  were  heard 
at  a  distance;  these  claps  became  louder  and  more  fre- 
quent; and  towards  eleven  o'clock  the  storm  roared  on  all 
sides.  The  heaven  was  streaked  with  long  and  brilliant 
lightnings,  and  the  rolling  of  the  thunder  was  continual. 
This  first  storm  having  formed  to  the  south  of  Chatenay, 
followed  the  ordinary  march  of  storms,  and  took  the  direc- 
tion of  the  valley  which  separates  this  village,  from  east  to 
west,  from  the  hills  of  d'Ecouen.  The  clouds  of  which  it 


358  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

was  formed,  extended  up  to  the  hill  of  Chatenay,  and  ap- 
peared then  stationary,  and  about  to  resolve  themselves  in 
rain  to  the  west.  But  at  midday  a  second  storm  appeared, 
whose  clouds,  less  elevated  than  those  of  the  former,  moved 
rapidly  and  advanced  towards  the  hill.  These  clouds  hav- 
ing arrived  at  the  extremity  of  the  great  plain  of  Fontenay, 
in  presence  of  those  which  were  then  over  Chatenay,  relax- 
ed in  their  march,  and  a  sort  of  combat  seemed  to  take 
place  between  the  first  and  second  storm,  and  one  could  not 
foresee  which  would  carry  the  day,  nor  what  direction  the 
last  arrived  clouds  would  take.  Many  inhabitants  observed 
this  combat  with  a  curiosity  mingled  with  anxiety,  not 
knowing  to  what  to  attribute  so  singular  a  perturbation. 
We  mention,  among  others,  Mr.  Dutour,  an  intelligent  man, 
and  admirably  placed  to  make  this  observation,  Mr.  Robi- 
net,  the  elder,  and  Madam  Bulot,  of  Fontenay.  A  great 
agitation  then  manifested  itself,  in  the  intermediate  parts, 
and  the  thunder  rolled  violently,  when  all  at  once  the  clouds 
of  the  second  storm  lowered  themselves  towards  the  earth, 
and  put  themselves  in  communication  with  it.  At  this  in- 
stant the  thunder  appeared  to  cease,  and  there  arose  a 
frightful  whirlwind  of  dust  and  of  light  bodies,  with  an 
extraordinary  and  confused  rolling.  A  shepherd,  named 
Olivier,  was  in  the  avenue  of  Pontoise,  very  near  the  place 
where  the  spout  was  formed.  The  storm,  said  he,  descend- 
ed and  approached  the  earth ;  some  of  the  clouds  were  de- 
tached from  others,  and  formed  a  whirlwind.  Among  the 
clouds  there  was  a  little  one  which  did  not  follow  the  march 
of  the  others ;  it  came  directly  towards  me ;  then  all  at 
once  it  returned  on  the  other  side,  rose  up  and  disap- 
peared. The  inferior  cloud  of  the  storm  was  very  low, 
almost  on  my  head,  and  so  thick  that  I  could  not  see  at 
some  steps ;  at  the  moment  of  its  descent  I  heard  a  loud 
clap  of  thunder,  and  this  was  the  last,  for  after  this  there 
was  nothing  but  a  rolling  and  continual  trembling. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  359 

The  point  of  ground  with  which  the  descending  cloud 
put  itself  in  communication,  made  a  part  of  a  field  to  the 
west  of  the  avenue  of  junipers,  very  near  a  grove  of  Swiss 
poplars.  The  trees  which  bordered  this  avenue  were  con- 
sequently to  the  east  of  the  spout,  which  advanced  from  the 
south  to  the  north.  On  the  west  side  of  these  trees,  that  is 
to  say,  on  the  side  next  the  passage  of  the  spout,  all  the 
leaves  were  dried  and  scorched  on  their  borders,  while  the 
leaves  of  the  opposite  side  towards  the  east,  had  preserved 
their  freshness  and  their  verdure.  All  these  trees  were 
inclined  to  the  west,  a  little  north;  instead  of  being  straight, 
they  were  bent  towards  the  place  of  the  passage  of  the 
spout. 

*  Thus  those  trees  affected  by  the  influence  of  the  spout, 
and  not  directly  in  it,  had  all  the  leaves  withered,  like  the 
leaves  which  have  been  used  in  powerful  electrical  dis- 
charges ;  but  preserved  all  their  leaves  untouched  on  the  side 
where  there  could  not  be  any  radiations.  We  know  not, 
says  Mr.  Peltier,  how  the  most  fertile  imagination  could 
refer  this  fact  to  the  influence  of  a  whirlwind,  and  deny  its 
connexion  with  electric  radiation,  and  it  is  impossible,  not 
to  recognise,  in  the  little  cloud  approaching  the  shepherd, 
and  then  flying,  an  effect  of  statical  electricity,  accompanied 
by  radiation. 

Mr.  Dutour,  who  made  his  observations  from  the  terrace 
on  the  top  of  his  house,  saw  the  formation  of  the  spout  at  a 
distance,  and  assigned  to  it  the  same  part  of  the  field  ;  but 
he  saw  what  the  shepherd  could  not  see,  as  he  was  blinded 
by  the  cloud  of  dust,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  was  —  the 
extremity  of  the  cone,  according  to  his  expression,  a  red 
cap  of  fire,  which  appeared  to  be  eight  metres  from  the 
earth. 

The  spout  increased  very  soon  in  intensity,  deviated  to- 
wards the  north  east,  and  came  near  to  the  Croix  du 
Freche. 


360  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

• 

It  was  animated,  says  Mr.  Lalanne,  engineer  of  bridges 
and  roads,  with  a  very  manifest  oscillatory  motion  both  verti- 
cal and  horizontal,  like  a  pendulum  which  should  be  suc- 
cessively approximated  to  the  clouds  and  removed  from  them, 
and  at  the  same  time  balancing  itself  around  the  point  of 
suspension. 

Between  its  place  of  departure  and  the  Croix  du  Freche, 
there  was  a  great  space  of  the  avenue  without  trees. 

After  the  junction  of  St.  Dennis,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
metres  further  on,  there  were  fruit  trees  on  the  borders  of 
its  path  ;  these  trees  had  on  the  west  north  west  like  the 
first,  all  their  leaves  dried  and  scorched,  whilst  the  leaves 
on  the  east  south  east  were  preserved  fresh.  These  trees 
were  not  merely  inclined,  but  entirely  prostrated,  and  lying 
on  the  ground,  turned  towards  the  west  north  west.  A 
cherry  tree  was  torn  up  and  divided  into  two  portions,  the 
portion  which  was  separated  from  the  (culee)  was  divided 
into  little  splinters  like  thin  laths,  such  as  one  finds  in  the 
trees  which  have  been  struck  with  thunder,  and  which  have 
served  as  conductor  to  a  powerful  discharge. 

Arrived  at  the  Croix  du  Freche,  the  descendant  cloud 
had  great  dimensions ;  it  was  then  a  terrestrial  spout  well 
formed,  which,  according  to  the  account  of  several  inhabi- 
tants of  Fontenay,  had  the  form  of  an  inverted  cone,  having 
its  base  in  the  upper  clouds,  and  its  apex,  about  seven  metres 
from  the  earth.  The  vapors  which  composed  it  had  a  grey 
tint,  and  rolled  one  on  the  other  with  a  great  impetuosity, 
letting  some  points  of  their  pale  light  be  seen,  and  causing 
a  confused  rolling  to  be  heard.  The  spout  then  began  to  de- 
viate from  its  first  direction,  and  went  to  the  north  east,  to- 
wards a  little  row  of  trees  along  a  brook  without  water,  but 
somewhat  moist.  It  overturned  them  all  in  the  direction  of 
its  march,  and  it  split  them  into  slender  strips,  in  the  slen- 
derest part  of  their  trunks.  It  passed  at  the  south  west  ex- 
tremity of  the  village  of  Fontenay,  reached  the  farms  of 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  361 

MM.  Lecerf  and  Destois,  destroyed  and  carried  off  their 
roofs,  overturned  the  walls  of  their  enclosures  in  the  direc- 
tion of  its  march,  and  devastated  their  enclosures.  Contin- 
uing then  its  course  along  the  moist  ravine,  bordered  with 
trees,  it  advanced  towards  the  hill  of  Chatenay,  which  it  be- 
gan to  ascend  as  far  as  the  enclosure  Plant  Thibault,  which 
it  destroyed  entirely.  The  trees  affected  by  the  meteor, 
presented  the  same  peculiarities,  as  those  mentioned  before; 
the  side  struck  was  dried,  while  the  opposite  side  preserved 
the  sap,  besides  the  parts  of  the  trunks  broken,  were  redu- 
ced to  thin  strips,  and  some  had  the  appearance  of  a  broom. 

M.  Dutour,  who  had  followed,  with  uninterrupted  atten- 
tion, the  progress  of  the  phenomenon  from  the  top  of  his 
house,  says,  that  at  this  moment  there  was  a  combat  between 
a  grey  ash  colored  cloud,  belonging  to  the  first  storm,  which, 
up  to  that  time,  had  remained  stationary,  and  the  anterior 
cloud  of  the  second  storm,  now  transformed  into  a  spout. 
The  march  of  the  spout  was  thus  arrested,  for  some  minutes 
over  Plant  Thibault,  but  it  succeeded  in  displacing  the  grey 
cloud,  and  repelling  it,  then  it  was  able  to  reach  the  summit 
of  Chatenay.  Little  greyish  clouds  rose  and  descended  in 
protuberances  along  the  inverted  cone.  The  spout  itself 
seemed  composed  of  nothing  but  a  great  number  of  little 
louds,  quijouaient  tous  pour  leur  compte,  in  keeping  them- 
selves shut  up  in  the  cone. 

The  whole  made  a  noise  like  a  large  steam  engine  in  ac- 
tion  From  her  locality,  Madam  Bulothad  seen  the  pa- 
rasite clouds,  which  she  compared  to  funnels  turning  on  them- 
selves; she  saw  also  flames  fall  on  the  trees  or  near  them. 
Madam  Ferriere  and  her  domestic,  saw  the  fiery  extremity 
of  the  cone,  which  they  compared  to  the  flame,  which 
comes  out  of  a  blacksmith's  forge.  The  spout  seemed  to 
wag  its  tail,  as  her  husband  said,  which  accords  with  the 
oscillations  of  M.  Lalanne. 

Thus  far,  all   the  trees,  and  walls  overturned  directly  by 

46 


362  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  spout,  were  in  the  direction  of  its  march  with  but  little 
deviation. 

From  Plant  Thibault,  it  would  have  directed  itself  infal- 
libly towards  the  wood  of  Chatenay,  to  the  west  of  the  cas- 
tle, if  the  first  storm  had  not  protected  it.  The  spout  devia- 
ted then  to  the  N.N.  E.  and  in  climbing  the  hill,  it  destroyed 
some  poplars  which  it  found  in  its  course. 

Two  thirds  of  these  trees  were  thrown  down  in  the  direc- 
tion of  its  path,  the  other  third  in  a  different  direction. 

Having  arrived  on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  it  shook  the 
houses  situated  in  the  street  of  Mareil ;  it  took  off  the  roofs, 
broke  the  windows,  scorched  the  curtains.  Miss  Beaucerf, 
who  was  shut  up  in  her  chamber,  saw  some  sparks  fall  by 
her  chimney,  though  she  had  no  fire,  nor  any  of  her  neigh- 
bors. Some  linen  placed  on  the  table,  was  carried  off 
through  the  chimney,  and  transported  to  a  distance.  M. 
Peltier,  adds,  that  this  effect  could  not  have  been  produced 
by  a  vacuum,  and  that  nothing  but  an  electric  attraction 
could  have  produced  it,  and  that  all  these  places  preserved 
for  a  long  time  the  smell  of  burnt  sulphur. 

In  following  the  march  of  the  meteor,  and  the  line  of  the 
trees  thrown  down,  it  appeared  evident  that  the  destruction 
of  the  houses  of  this  street  was  not  caused  by  the  direct 
passage  of  the  spout,  but  by  lateral  influence,  for  the  trees 
of  the  orchard  of  M.  Herelle  indicated  that  the  column 
passed  between  this  orchard  and  the  road  of  Fontenay  to 
Fosses,  and  not  between  this  orchard,  and  the  street  of 
Mareil.  All  the  fruit  trees  of  this  orchard  were  thrown  down 
towards  the  N.  N.  W.,  whilst  those  of  the  road  of  Fontenay 
to  Fosses,  which  was  parallel  to  it  at  about  25  metres,  were 
thrown  towards  the  N.  N.  E.  From  this  place,  the  spout 
deviated  again  a  little  to  the  east,  entered  the  park  of  the 
castle,  and  devastated  it  in  the  most  disastrous  manner.  All 
the  trees  of  the  high  forest  were  torn  down,  three  quarters 
of  them  had  their  trunks  dried  and  split  into  small  splinters, 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  363 

or  in  the  form  of  a  broom.  The  centre  of  the  park  had  its 
trees  overturned,  in  the  most  singular  manner,  and  an  apple 
tree  was  carried  200  metres  and  placed  on  a  pile  of  oaks  and 
elms. 

But  this  confusion  only  existed  in  the  centre ;  all  the 
trees  in  the  periphery  had  been  thrown  down  with  their 
tops  towards  the  centre  of  the  park,  as  M.  Lalanne  has 
shown  in  the  plan  which  he  made.  The  spout  carried 
away  almost  all  the  roof  of  the  habitation,  and  overturned 
the  walls  of  the  enclosure.  What  was  remarkable  in  this 
last  effect  is,  that  one  of  the  walls,  between  the  farm  and 
the  castle,  was  overturned  in  five  portions  almost  equal,  of 
seven  or  eight  metres  each.  The  first,  the  third  and  the 
fifth,  fell  towards  the  north  east,  and  the  second  and  the 
fourth,  towards  the  south  west.  The  slaters  of  M.  Herelle, 
proprietor  of  the  castle,  declare  that  several  rows  of  slate 
had  lost  their  nails,  without  the  slates  being  moved  from 
their  places ;  they  seemed  as  if  they  had  been  replaced  by 
the  hand  of  man. 

This  fact,  almost  incredible  at  first,  says  M.  Peltier,  ceases 
to  be  so  when  we  compare  it  with  others  already  known. 
The  nails  of  sofas  and  arm-chairs  taken  off,  bricks  and  slabs 
raised  up  and  left  in  place,  a  frame  taken  away  without 
doing  any  damage  to  the  looking  glass.  These  facts  accord 
perfectly  with  the  attractive  force  of  statical  electricity,  and 
the  preference  of  its  choices,  but  become  a  complete  ab- 
surdity with  a  whirlwind  for  a  cause. 

The  farm  belonging  to  the  castle  suffered  grievously 
from  the  passage  of  the  spout ;  three  quarters  of  the  build- 
ings lost  their  roofs  ;  the  walls  and  the  doors  against  which 
the  spout  projected  itself,  were  covered  with  a  layer  of  earth 
from  the  fields. 

After  the  immense  energy  which  the  spout  expended 
from  its  formation,  it  seemed  now  to  arrive  at  its  extreme 
limits;  it  took  up  nothing  more,  but  it  let  go  the  light  earth 


364  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

• 

which  it  had  taken  up  before,  and  which  it  had  scattered 
in  its  borders.  A  field  of  corn  on  the  north  west  of  the 
park,  felt  the  influence  of  the  spout ;  all  the  stalks  nearest 
to  the  passage  of  the  meteor,  had  their  ears  scorched  on  the 
side  next  the  spout  on  the  south  east,  while  the  side  oppo- 
site was  left  untouched  and  green.  The  hill  on  which  the 
castle  is  built,  terminates  abruptly  towards  the  north  east, 
and  the  ravine  below  is  filled  with  the  waters  of  a  pond. 
Some  willows  were  in  the  middle,  and  consequently  served 
as  so  many  points  of  attraction.  The  spout  did  not  prolong 
itself  immediately,  to  establish  the  communication  which 
had  just  been  broken  ;  there  was  at  first  a  discharge  at  a  dis- 
tance, producing  a  large  flame,  which  appeared  to  fall  from 
the  cone  into  the  pond.  This  globe  of  fire  was  seen  by 
Madam  Louvetand  her  daughter,  who  found  herself  near  the 
pond  at  this  time.  The  young  girl  was  hurried  along  about 
ten  metres  without  being  able  to  resist  the  force  ;  at  last  she 
stopped  herself  by  clinging  to  the  trunk  of  a  tree  on  the 
outside  of  its  path. 

The  electric  discharge  produced  an  effect  which  is  well 
known,  and  which  we  have  often  produced  in  our  micro- 
scopic experiments :  that  is,  to  kill  the  animals  contained 
in  the  liquid  by  electric  discharges  at  a  distance.  This  is 
what  happened  at  Chatenay.  A  great  number  of  fishes 
were  killed  by  the  discharge  which  took  place  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  communication  was  established  between  the 
spout  and  the  pond.  The  half  of  the  trees  which  bordered 
it  were  more  or  less  broken,  dried  and  split  into  splinters. 

After  having  remained  a  moment  on  the  pond,  the  spout 
advanced  along  a  ditch  full  of  water  and  bordered  with 
willows;  it  had  lost  its  violence  and  its  extent;  it  travelled 
slowly,  and  traversed  more  slowly  still  a  field  situated  beyond 
the  pond.  In  advancing  across  the  field,  the  spout  became 
visibly  more  slender  and  more  transparent ;  in  fine,  at  about 
one  thousand  metres  from  Chatenay,  near  a  clump  of  trees, 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  365 

at  an  avenue  called  the  Fosse,  it  was  reduced  to  the  size  of 
a  stove  pipe.  It  was  here  that  it  terminated,  having  first 
divided  itself  in  two.  The  upper  part  appeared  itself  di- 
vided into  ribbons  of  a  brown  and  white  color,  and  it 
dissipated  by  degrees,  in  rising  np  like  a  light  smoke,  the 
lower  part  appeared  darker,  and  settled  down  on  the 
ground. 

An  excavation  was  found  in  this  place,  which  had  not 
been  remarked  before.  All  being  terminated,  the  heaven 
recovered  its  serenity  ;  and  no  one  could  doubt  of  the  horri- 
ble tempest  which  had  just  passed  over  the  commune,  with- 
out the  debris  of  all  kinds  which  covered  the  earth. 

Though  there  were  only  four  or  five  inhabitants  at  Fon- 
tenay  and  Chatenay,  who  saw  the  globes  of  fire  or  flames 
interpose  themselves  between  the  ground  and  the  spout, 
or  between  the  parasite  clouds,  it  was  not  the  same  with 
those  who  saw  the  meteor  at  a  greater  distance,  and  who 
were  entirely  beyond  the  influence  of  the  clouds  forming 
and  accompanying  the  spout.  M.  Dardelle,  when  he  per- 
ceived a  cloud  of  fire  burst  over  Chatenay,  was  so  per- 
suaded that  it  must  be  burnt,  that  he  came  express  the  next 
day,  in  the  morning,  to  see  and  know  all  the  evils  which 
must  have  resulted  from  such  a  conflagration.  All  these 
united  facts  leave  no  doubt,  says  M.  Peltier,  as  to  the  first 
cause  of  this  phenomenon ;  every  where  we  find  electric 
phenomena;  every  where  we  see  statical  results  of  attrac- 
tions and  repulsions,  and  continued  discharges  between  the 
little  bodies.  The  passage  of  M.  Dutour,  cited  above,  is 
remarkable,  in  which  he  represents  the  cone  of  the  spout  as 
formed  by  a  number  of  small  clouds,  sporting  with  each 
other,  as  our  artificial  clouds,  serving  for  conductors  of  elec- 
tricity. The  raising  and  tearing  away  of  heavy  bodies 
are  also  the  effects  of  this  powerful  tension,  which  the 
clouds  alone  can  acquire,  and  which  none  of  our  experi- 
ments can  at  all  equal.  Nothing  can  give  us  an  idea  of 


366  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  enormous  quantity  of  electricity  which  the  clouds  can 
acquire,  if  we  do  not  attend  each  year  to  those  violent 
storms  which,  for  whole  hours,  are  like  enflamed  volcanoes 
darting  from  all  parts  long  furrows  of  fire. 

We  have  not,  says  M.  Peltier,  mentioned  the  calculations 
of  M.  Lalanne,  on  the  force  sufficient  to  overturn  the  walls, 
because  this  distinguished  engineer  set  out  with  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  wind  was  the  disturbing  force  ;  but,  accord- 
ing to  my  researches  and  my  experiments,  this  force  plays 
but  a  secondary  role  :  it  is  the  electric  attraction  which  is  the 
first  cause ;  it  is  that  which  we  have  seen  besides  tear  up 
the  floors  of  chambers,  penetrate  and  furrow  the  earth,  trans- 
port walls  and  debris  of  all  kinds  against  the  course  of  the 
spout  and  the  wind.  The  wind  could  not  give  an  account 
of  the  wall  that  was  overturned  in  five  parts,  of  which  the 
first,  the  third,  and  the  fifth,  were  thrown  towards  the  north 
east,  the  second  and  the  fourth  towards  the  south  west ; 
whilst  one  of  the  particulars,  often  remarked  in  spouts,  and 
in  particular,  in  that  of  Chatenay,  is  an  oscillatory  move- 
ment of  the  extremity  of  the  cone,  which  projects  from 
right  to  left  the  objects  which  it  meets,  an  effect  of  which 
we  indicated  the  cause  above.  In  fine,  says  M.  Peltier,  I 
rely  on  the  authority  of  M.  Becquerel.  This  savant  visited 
the  places  with  me ;  he  followed  the  march  of  the  meteor ; 
he  saw  the  havoc  which  it  made ;  he  examined  the  wit- 
nesses concerning  it,  and  he  saw,  like  me,  but  one  interpre- 
tation possible,  that  of  electricity  for  "the  cause,  (p.  151.) 

Not  comprehending  the  connection  between  the  storm 
cloud  and  the  violent  gust  of  wind,  they  have  attributed  to 
the  latter  all  the  effects,  of  which  the  cause  remained  un- 
known, notwithstanding  the  impossibility  of  finding  an 
origin  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  the  perturbation,  round 
which  calm  and  tranquillity  reign.  I  never  have  been  able 
to  comprehend  how  they  have  misunderstood  the  power  of 
attraction  and  repulsion  of  the  electricity  of  these  thick  and 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  367 

isolated  clouds  which  swim  in  a  pure  and  serene  sky.  Both 
before  and  after  their  arrival,  the  atmosphere  is  calm,  but 
at  their  approach,  violent  gusts  arise,  coming  from  all  parts ; 
the  rain  itself  often  terminates  the  phenomena,  and  when  the 
cloud  passes  away  to  a  distance,  the  serenity  of  the  heaven 
returns.  From  this  necessity  of  referring  to  the  visible  part 
of  the  meteor  every  thing  which  had  an  unknown  cause, 
they  have  attributed  to  the  agitation  of  the  air  a  power  al- 
together miraculous.  The  tearing  up  of  floors  and  pave- 
ments, the  lifting  of  earth  and  foundations,  cannot  be  ex- 
plained by  blasts  of  wind,  however  violent  they  may  be. 
A  whirlwind  would  raise  up  the  water  and  not  distil  it,  to 
form  immediately  ascending  clouds,  as  we  see  around  the 
water  spout ;  never  could  it  evaporate  the  water  beyond  its 
point  of  saturation  :  consequently,  never  would  the  vapor 
formed  become  immediately  visible.  The  effect  is  local  and 
of  little  extent  in  the  midst  of  a  calm  in  surrounding  re- 
gions. The  dilatations  and  contractions  which  they  assign 
for  cause  in  the  atmosphere,  never  could  produce  those  sud- 
den blasts  :  the  electric  discharges  alone  are  able  to  produce 
such  effects ;  they  alone  can  pass  from  repose  to  action,  from 
attraction  to  repulsion  in  a  moment ;  they  alone  can  evapo- 
rate suddenly  a  considerable  quantity  of  water,  beyond  the 
saturation  of  the  ambient  air,  and  cool  the  atmosphere  and 
the  clouds  by  evaporating  again  the  opaque  vapors ;  they 
alone  can  transport  trees  and  houses  contrary  to  the  wind, 
and  produce  all  these  effects,  when  hardly  a  breath  of  air  is 
felt ;  these  alone  could  wilt  the  leaves,  crisp  them,  and  red- 
den them  on  the  sides  next  the  spout,  and  leave  them  un- 
touched on  the  opposite  side.  (p.  142.) 

191.  Mr.  Tilloch  has  inserted  an  account  of  a  spout, 
which  appeared  on  the  17th  of  June,  1817,  at  Kentish-Town, 
marching  from  east  to  west,  and  which  was  seen  by  the 
Editor  of  the  Monthly  Magazine. 

This  spout  was  formed  of  udders  of  cloud  grouped  to- 


368  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

gether  in  form  of  an  inverted  cone.  It  descended  two  thirds 
of  the  space,  and  the  portions  of  the  cloud  of  which  it  was 
composed  were  in  the  violent  agitation  of  a  smoke  which 
ascends  a  chimney  of  a  fire  which  has  just  been  filled  with 
a  combustible.  The  spout  did  not  preserve  the  length 
which  it  had  attained;  it  retired  towards  the  cloud,  and 
took  the  form  of  a  large  short  cone,  terminated  by  an  elon- 
gated filament,  varying  in  length  and  thickness,  which 
lasted  six  minutes.  The  meteor  continued  for  half  an  hour, 
when  a  considerable  shower  fell  from  the  cloud  to  which  it 
was  attached. 

Among  the  effects  which  it  produced,  we  remarked  a 
loaded  wagon  which  it  took  up  and  carried  twenty 
yards. 

The  witnesses  which  saw  it  very  near,  use  words  which 
do  not  indicate  that  the  cone  had  a  gyratory  motion,  which 
it  would  have  had  if  it  had  been  produced  by  a  whirlwind, 
as  Mr.  Tilloch  thinks;  they  describe  it  as  a  vast  mass  of 
smoke,  working  about  in  great  agitation.  This  cone  fell 
almost  perpendicularly,  a  little  inclined  towards  the  north, 
according  to  some,  and  a  little  towards  the  south,  according 
to  others ;  but  all  say  it  rose  without  rain,  and  that  under 
its  extremity,  all  light  bodies  followed  it.  The  witnesses 
also  said  that  in  its  lowering,  it  appeared  to  hesitate,  and  it 
commenced  at  first  by  an  udder,  then  descended  a  little :  all 
the  portions  were  interwoven  and  united  together  till  the 
moment  when  it  began  to  shorten  itself,  and  then  it  drew 
itself  up  into  the  cloud. 

Mr.  Tilloch  draws  these  theoretic  conclusions  from  this 
single  observation. 

1.  A  spout  is  a  collection  of  clouds  of  the -same  nature  as 
the  cloud  from  which  it  descends. 

2.  Its  descent  is  a  mechanical  effect  of  a  whirlwind,  which 
creates  a  void  in  the  centre,  or  a  great  rarefaction  between 
the  clouds  and  the  earth  :  the  clouds  descend  then  by  their 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  369 

own  weight,  or  by  the  pressure  of  the  neighboring  clouds, 
or  of  the  air. 

3.  The  circular  movements  of  the  descending  mass,  and 
the  whirlwind  felt  at  the  earth,  and  the  appearance  of  the 
clouds  at  its  origin,  during  its  increase  and  decrease,  all 
demonstrate  that  it  is  a  whirlwind  which  is  the  mechanical 
cause  of  it. 

4.  The  same  whirlwind  which  provokes  the  descent  of 
the  cloud,  provokes  the  ascent  of  bodies  placed  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil. 

5.  If  the  whirlwind  takes  place  above  the  water,  the  as- 
cending column  is  formed  of  vapors,  of  foam,  or  of  water. 

6.  When  the  phenomenon  terminates,  the  light  bodies  fall 
and  the  cloud  ascends. 

7.  When  the  lower  light  bodies  are  of  water,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  ascending  vapor  unites  itself  to  the  spout,  con- 
denses the  clouds,  which   form  it,  at  this  point,  and  the 
water  falls  as  if  through  a  syphon. 

8.  If  the  descending  cloud  is  electrical,  it  may  send  a  dis- 
charge on  the  conductor  which  is  presented  to  it ;  and  still 
more,  it  pours  down  on  its  route  that  which  it  had  taken 
up  before,  at  first,  and  it  is  this  which  produces  these  strange 
phenomena  of  a  rain  of  fishes  and  frogs,  &c.,  &c. 

9.  It  appears  certain  that  the  action  of  the  air  on  the 
clouds,  pressing  on  the  mouth  of  the  whirlwind  as  on  a  fun- 
nel, augments  the  condensation  to  such  a  degree  that  the 
fall  of  water  belongs  to  the  prodigy,     (p.  341.) 

How  far  electricity  is  concerned  as  a  cause  in  the  produc- 
tion of  some  of  the  phenomena  detailed  above,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  say.  As  an  effect  of  the  sudden  condensation  of 
large  quantities  of  aqueous  vapor  in  the  air,  it  is  pretty 
well  understood.  [See  Pouillet's  Elements  de  Physique, 
Art.  270.]  But  as  all  effects  in  nature  become  themselves 
causes,  and  as  the  utility  of  atmospheric  electricity  has  not 
yet  been  discovered,  we  must  be  careful  not  to  attribute  on 

47 


370  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  one  hand,  to  the  action  of  electricity  effects  which  are 
plainly  accounted  for  by  the  dynamical  agency  necessarily 
resulting  from  the  diminished  weight  of  a  suddenly  formed 
cloud,  nor  on  the  other  to  deny  that  any  effects  whatever  are 
produced  by  the  immense  quantities  of  electricity  developed 
by  the  condensation  of  the  vapor. 

If  it  shall  hereafter  be  proved  by  well  authenticated  obser- 
vation that  the  barometer  sometimes  falls  more  than  three 
inches  in  the  centre  of  one  of  these  spouts,  then  it  will  be- 
come necessary  to  look  out  for  some  other  cause  besides  the 
one  I  have  assigned,  to  account  for  part  of  the  effect.  Even 
then  the  cause  which  I  have  assigned  will  remain  a  vera 
causa,  but  not  the  sole  cause. 

As  to  the  drying  up  of  the  leaves  of  the  trees  on  the  passage 
of  a  spout,  it  may  be  electricity  for  aught  I  know,  or  it  may 
be  the  violent  force  of  the  wind  upon  them.  So  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  learn,  the  leaves  and  grass  remain  perfectly 
green  immediately  after  the  passage  of  a  spout,  but  on  the 
next  day  they  wither  away. 

Many  persons  told  me  that  the  limbs  of  the  trees  which 
fell  on  Staten  Island  along  with  a  shower  of  hail  and  shin- 
gles on  the  evening  of  the  19th  June,  1835,  had  the  leaves 
perfectly  fresh  and  green.  And  President  Bache  and  I  ob- 
served that  many  of  the  leaves,  in  the  Brunswick  spout  were 
torn  and  pierced  with  numerous  holes  by  the  sand  and  gravel 
stones  and  particles  of  earth,  carried  along  with  great  velo- 
city by  the  wind ;  this  was  quite  evident,  as  we  found  much 
sand  and  pebbles  imbedded  in  the  bark  of  the  trees.  I 
would  not  be  understood  to  say  that  electricity  had  nothing 
to  do  with  this  phenomenon. 

Professor  Olmsted  says,  (178)  "  the  forces  which  acted 
upon  the  individual  parts  of  a  body,  often  appear  to  have 
acted  in  a  contrary  direction.  The  legs  of  the  same  table 
were  found  deposited  at  the  distance  of  many  feet  from  each 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  371 

other  in  different  directions  ;  and  this  was  true  also  of  the 
hinges  of  the  same  door." 

These  facts  are  easily  accounted  for  without  supposing 
that  the  forces  acted  in  a  contrary  direction.  Nothing  is 
more  common  than  for  light  bodies,  and  even  heavy  ones  to 
be  thrown  towards  the  centre  of  the  approaching  meteor 
with  such  force  as  to  break  to  pieces  on  striking  the  ground, 
and  then  parts  of  the  broken  body  will  remain,  and  parts 
will  be  carried  forward  by  the  rear  of  the  spout. 

This  is  the  case  with  many  trees,  which  break  in  their 
fall ;  the  trunk  remains  where  it  fell,  while  the  top  is  carried 
sometimes  to  a  great  distance  in  the  direction  in  which  the 
spout  moves,  and  sometimes  remaining  attached,  will  only  be 
twisted  round. 

In  this  very  spout  several  instances  of  that  kind  occurred, 
and  also  others  of  a  similar  character.  For  example,  in  the 
house  which  the  professor  mentions  as  being  removed  from 
its  foundations,  leaving  one  woman  in  a  cellar  and  carrying 
another  away  some  distance,  was  a  box  of  carpenter's  tools; 
and  after  the  spout  had  passed  on,  a  chisel  which  was  in 
the  box  at  the  approach  of  the  spout,  was  found  sticking  fast 
in  the  western  wall  of  the  house. 

This  explanation  does  not  apply  to  stripping  off  the 
feathers  from  chickens,  the  removing  of  frames  from  looking 
glasses  without  disturbing  the  glass,  nor  the  drawing  of 
nails  from  the  roofs  of  houses  without  disturbing  the  tiles. 
The  steam  power  generated  or  rather  let  loose  in  this  meteor 
is  totally  inadequate  to  produce  these  effects.  All  the  evi- 
dence which  is  known  for  the  latter  fact  perhaps  still  leaves 
it  doubtful;  but  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  stripping  of  the 
chickens.  Many  proofs  of  it  have  come  to  my  knowledge 
beside  those  detailed  in  this  book.  To  satisfy  myself  whether 
a  sudden  rarefaction  of  air  on  the  outside  of  a  chicken  would 
cause  an  explosion  of  the  feathers  from  its  body,  one  was 
placed  in  the  receiver  of  an  air  pump,  and  a  very  rapid  ex- 
haustion effected  without  producing  any  such  effect. 


372  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Nor  do  I  know  any  experiments  going  to  shew  how  elec- 
tricity could  produce  the  phenomenon. 

M.  Babinet  told  me  that  he  knew  instances  in  which  the  hair 
on  the  mons  veneris  and  in  the  arm  pits  was  entirely  remov- 
ed from  persons  killed  by  lightning,  while  that  on  the  head 
was  not  disturbed. 

In  the  case  of  the  chickens,  however,  they  were  not  killed 
outright,  but  were  seen  walking  about  in  all  their  naked 
simplicity  after  the  spout  had  passed  on.  Nor  do  I  recollect 
to  have  heard  of  one  well  authenticated  case  of  death  by  elec- 
tricity, in  this  meteor,  of  persons  in  houses  exploded  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  have  their  walls  found  lying  on  all  sides  of 
their  foundations.  I  have  heard  it  also  confidently  asserted 
that  many  persons  in  the  Natchez  tornado  were  stripped  en- 
tirely naked,  who  had  not  experienced  any  very  severe 
bodily  injury  ;  but  I  am  not  able  to  vouch  for  the  truth  of 
the  story.  If  it  is  so,  it  is  like  the  stripping  of  the  chickens ; 
a  fact  not  yet  fully  explained. 

But  if  these  particular  effects  should  be  found  to  depend  on 
electricity,  as  it  is  highly  probable  they  do,  it  will  not  follow 
that  all  the  other  phenomena  of  tornadoes  depend  on  elec- 
tricity also. 

Many  of  them  manifestly  do  not ;  for  example,  the  eleva- 
tion of  very  heavy  materials  to  a  great  height,  cannot  be  af- 
fected by  electrical  attraction,  because  action  and  reaction 
being  equal  and  in  opposite  directions,  the  upper  parts  of  the 
atmosphere  being  so  very  rare,  could  not  afford  a  reaction 
sufficient  to  draw  up  these  materials  from  below,  without 
being  attracted  downwards  with  a  velocity  altogether  incon- 
ceivable, and  we  have  no  evidence  of  its  coming  down  at  all. 
But  it  is  unnecessary  to  attack  other  theories  ;  if  the  doctrine 
taught  in  this  volume  is  true,  it  leaves  no  room  for  any 
other;  it  occupies  the  whole  ground. 

Neither  is  it  necessary  for  me  to  explain  every  fact  con- 
tained in  the  foregoing  accounts-.  The  reader  who  makes 


EXTRACTS  FROM  M.  PELTIER.  373 

himself  acquainted  with  the  elements  of  the  theory,  will 
have  but  little  difficulty  in  explaining  all  the  principal  phe- 
nomena. He  must  be  careful,  however,  to  make  a  distinc- 
tion between  the  facts  observed  and  the  deductions  of  the 
observer.  The  deductions  are  often  false,  when  the  facts 
are  true. 


SECTION  EIGHTH. 

OF   METEORIC   RIVERS    OR    WATERFALLS. 

192.  ON  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  June,  1838,  a  most 
destructive  flood  took  place  at  Hollidaysburg,  Pennsylvania. 
A  paper  published  in  that  town,  says,  "  About  six  in  the 
morning  the  wind  shifted,  and  soon  after  the  rain,  which, 
for  three  or  four  hours  had  descended  from  the  north  in 
sheets,  abated,  and  not  long  after  ceased  altogether.  The 
flood  attained  its  greatest  height  about  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  very  soon  began  to  subside,  and  fell  as  rapidly 
as  it  had  risen.  No  conception  can  be  formed,  by  those 
who  were  not  present,  of  the  singular  character  of  the  flood. 
The  storm,  it  is  allowed,  began  about  twelve  at  night,  and 
continued  with  unabated  fury,  until  after  six  in  the  morn- 
ing. During  that  time  the  Juniata  had  risen  about  fourteen 
feet  above  its  ordinary  surface.  About  nine  o'clock  we 
were  able  to  leave  our  dwelling,  from  the  first  floor,  on 
horse  back,  and  reached  Hollidaysburg  amidst  the  warm 
congratulations  of  the  delighted  crowd,  and  at  twelve  o'clock 
the  river  had  returned  to  its  usual  channel." 

On  reading  this  account,  I  determined  to  visit  the  lo- 
cality of  the  storm,  as  soon  as  my  business  in  Philadel- 
phia would  permit  my  absence.  I  arrived  in  Hollidaysburg 
on  the  26th  of  July,  and  remained  there  eight  days,  visiting 
the  sides  of  the  ridges  and  mountains  every  day. 

The  first  ridge  which  1  examined  is  west  of  the  town 
about  half  a  mile,  at  its  nearest  part.  It  runs  east  and  west 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  375 

on  the  south  side  of  the  railroad.  It  is  about  eleven  or 
twelve  hundred  yards  long,  pretty  steep  on  the  north  side, 
and  perhaps  about  two  hundred  feet  high.  On  the  east  end 
it  terminates  pretty  abruptly,  and  on  the  west  not  so  much 
so.  The  whole  northern  side  is  covered  with  trees  to  the 
base,  and  on  the  top  there  is  a  cultivated  farm. 

On  examining  the  northern  side  of  this  ridge  large  masses 
of  gravel,  and  rocks,  and  trees,  and  earth,  to  the  number  of 
twenty-two,  were  found  lying  at  the  base  on  the  plain  be- 
low, having  been  washed  down  from  the  side  of  the  ridge 
by  running  water.  The  places  from  which  these  masses 
started  could  easily  be  seen  from  the  base,  being  only  about 
thirty  yards  up  the  side.  On  going  up  to  the  head  of  these 
washes,  they  were  found  to  be  nearly  round  basins,  from 
about  one  to  six  feet  deep,  without  any  drains  of  water 
leading  into  them  from  above.  The  old  leaves  of  last  year's 
growth,  and  other  light  materials,  were  lying  undisturbed 
above,  within  an  inch  of  the  rim  of  these  basins,  which 
were  generally  cut  down  nearly  perpendicular  on  the  up- 
per side,  and  washed  out  clean  on  the  lower.  The  greater 
part  of  these  basins  were  nearly  of  the  same  diameter,  about 
twenty  feet,  and  the  trees  that  stood  in  their  places  were 
all  washed  out.  Those  below  the  basin  were  generally 
standing,  and  shewed  by  the  leaves  and  grass  drifted  on 
their  upper  side,  how  high  the  water  was  in  running  down 
the  side  of  the  ridge ;  on  some  it  was  as  high  as  three  feet  j 
it  probably,  however,  dashed  up  on  the  trees  above  its 
general  level. 

I  have  said  that  the  basins  were  nearly  of  the  same  size, 
and  nearly  at  the  same  distance  apart,  from  forty- four  to 
fifty  yards.  The  one,  however,  at  the  west  end  of  the 
ridge  is  an  exception  ;  it  was  only  about  six  feet  in  diameter, 
and  one  foot  deep,  and  exactly  ten  yards  from  the  one  next 
it  to  the  east,  or  from  centre  to  centre  fourteen  yards.  Be- 
yond this  to  the  west  the  ridge  tapers  oif  and  becomes  quite 
low,  and  the  basins  terminate. 


376  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

There  is  another  ridge,  called  the  Chimney  Ridge,  about 
the  same  length  as  this,  though  much  higher  and  steeper, 
about  south  east  from  Hollidaysburg.  This  ridge  runs  a 
little  north  of  east,  and  south  of  west.  It  has  ten  such 
basins  on  its  northern  slope,  a  little  higher  up  from  its  base 
than  the  ridge  first  described.  The  one  nearest  the  eastern 
end,  however,  is  not  round,  as  the  others  generally  are ;  it 
is  ninety  feet  long  from  east  to  west,  along  the  ridge,  and 
only  twenty-one  feet  wide ;  and  it  has  an  outlet  at  each 
end,  but  none  in  the  middle,  and  from  these  two  outlets  an 
immense  mass  of  earth  and  rocks  was  carried  down  into 
the  Juniata,  which  washes  its  base.  The  cut  here  was 
nineteen  feet  deep  on  the  upper  side,  and  six  feet  on  the 
lower,  of  the  middle  space  which  was  not  washed  out. 
And  as  this  middle  space  had  the  old  dead  dry  leaves,  and 
other  light  materials  lying  on  its  surface  undisturbed,  it 
seems  certain  that  this  cut  could  not  have  been  made  by  a 
mass  of  water  of  its  own  shape  and  size  ;  it  was,  therefore, 
probably  one  spout  of  descending  water,  which  wavered 
about,  until  it  dug  out  the  earth  in  the  shape  mentioned, 
discharging  itself  awhile  at  one  end  of  the  cut,  and  then  at 
the  other. 

Above  this  cut  there  was  no  drain  leading  into  it,  and 
the  dead  leaves  of  last  year's  growth,  and  chips  of  wood 
which  had  been  made  by  the  axe,  and  other  light  materials, 
were  lying  undisturbed,  as  if  the  descending  water  had  not 
even  plashed  up  an  inch  above  the  perpendicular  cut,  nine- 
teen feet  deep. 

The  very  great  steepness  of  Chimney  Ridge  prevented 
me  and  Dr.  Landis,  who  accompanied  me  in  this  examina- 
tion, from  going  up  to  the  several  basins,  along  the  side  of 
the  hill  about  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  or  thirty  or  forty  yards, 
measuring  by  the  slope.  But  we  measured  the  distances 
between  the  gullies  below,  and  found  them  vary  from  about 
seventy  to  one  hundred  and  twelve  yards,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  most  western  one,  which  was  quite  small,  and 


METEORIC  RIVERS    OR  WATERFALLS. 


377 


near  to  the  one  next  it  to  the  east,  as  had  been  the  case  on 
the  first  examined  ridge.  The  quantity  of  water  which 
fell  in  these  ten  columns  was  probably  as  great  as  fell  in 
the  twenty-three  columns  first  examined.  The  ridge  is 
about  the  same  length,  but  much  higher  and  steeper,  and 
the  descending  columns  of  water  were  more  than  double 
the  distance  apart,  and  something  higher  up  on  the  side  of 
the  ridge,  and  more  irregular  in  their  distance  apart ;  and 
several  seemed  to  have  their  east  and  west  diameter  longer 
than  their  north  and  south,  while  those  of  the  first  ridge 
were  nearly  all  round.  On  neither  ridge  was  there  any 
drain  above  leading  into  the  basins,  nor  any  in  between 
them,  and  the  basins  on  both  ridges  were  almost  in  a 
straight  line  with  one  another.  And  in  all  cases  the  basins 
were  much  deeper  than  the  gullies  formed  by  the  water  run- 
ning from  them.  Indeed,  these  gullies  were  seldom  deep 
enough  to  cut  out  the  trees,  but  in  all  cases  the  trees  were 
entirely  removed  from  the  basins. 

On  the  south  side  of  Chimney  Ridge,  nearly  opposite, 
near  the  base,  there  is  a  small  basin  in  a  field  where 
the  side  of  the  ridge  is  not  too  steep  to  be  cultivated,  and 
about  two  thirds  of  a  mile  from  this  last,  near  the  top  of 
the  ridge,  there  is  one  of  twenty  feet  diameter,  and  six  feet 
deep,  on  a  very  moderate  slope,  perhaps  about  twenty  de- 
grees elevation  from  the  horizon.  This  basin  is  round,  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  cut  on  the  north  eastern  side,  thus : 


A,  the  basin  ;  B,  a  hole  of  nearly  equal  depth  ;  C,  the  earth  washed  out  from  below. 

48 


378  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  small  hole  is  about  five  feet  in  diameter,  and  four 
and  a  half  feet  deep.  The  earth  is  washed  out  below  this 
basin  on  a  level  with  its  bottom,  and  there  is  a  sugar  maple 
of  thirty-nine  inches  in  circumference,  yet  standing  erect  on 
its  base  of  wide-extended  roots,  about  twelve  yards  from  the 
basin  where  it  must  have  grown,  as  there  is  no  place  below 
where  the  ground  is  washed  sufficiently  deep  to  have  re- 
moved the  tree.  The  force  of  water  here  was  much  greater 
than  any  one  would  have  supposed,  as  the  ground  over 
which  this  tree  was  moved  was  very  slightly  inclining  to 
the  horizon.  The  ground  was  very  hard  on  this  side  of 
the  hill,  and  was  but  little  furrowed  below  the  basin  in 
comparison  with  the  great  quantity  of  water  which  evi- 
dently fell. 

The  loose  materials  were  lying  undisturbed  at  the  very 
brink  of  this  basin,  as  in  all  the  rest,  and  there  was  no 
drain  of  water  above  leading  to  it.  The  cause  of  this  lat- 
ter fact  appeared  difficult  to  understand  until  this  last  ba- 
sin, with  the  small  circular  cut  in  its  side,  was  seen.  This 
cut  was  so  distinct  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  it  was  made 
by  a  descending  column  of  water  not  greater  in  diameter 
than  itself,  and,  as  it  could  hardly  be  a  distinct  column  fall- 
ing in  contact  with  a  larger  one,  it  seems  almost  certain  that 
the  large  basin  and  the  small  circular  cut  at  its  side,  were 
made  by  one  and  the  same  descending  column,  not  more 
than  five  feet  thick  at  its  lower  extremity,  wavering  about 
until  it  cut  out  a  basin  of  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  and  de- 
viating from  that  boundary  five  feet,  and  cutting  out  the 
small  perpendicular  hole  at  its  side.  In  this  way  all  the 
other  basins  might  have  been  cut  by  a  column  of  water 
much  less  in  diameter  than  themselves.  This  explanation 
seems  the  only  possible  one  of  the  phenomenon  in  question. 
For  if  the  column  of  descending  water  had  been  large 
enough  to  fill  the  basin,  it  seems  certain  that  all  light  ma- 
terials wpuld  have  been  driven  away  some  distance  from 
the  upper  brink. 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  379 

Besides,  the  quantity  of  water  which  ran  down  the  hill 
from  these  basins,  in  no  case  lodged  the  mud  and  leaves  on 
the  trees  which  were  left  standing  in  its  path,  more  than 
three  feet  high,  which  would  have  been  the  case  if  the  di- 
ameter of  the  falling  columns  had  been  as  large  as  the  di- 
ameter of  the  basins. 

The  immense  quantity  of  water  descending  in  one  of 
these  meteoric  columns  will  be  readily  imagined  when  we 
consider  that  if  they  fell  from  a  height  of  only  four  hundred 
feet,  the  water  which  fell  in  one  second  would  be  sufficient 
to  cover  a  space  twenty-four  times  the  area  of  the  transverse 
section  of  the  columns  ten  feet  deep,  for  the  velocity  of  the 
water  at  the  moment  of  reaching  the  earth  would  be  nearly 
two  hundred  feet  per  second.  If  a  column  of  only  one 
square  yard  area  should  fall  thus  for  even  one  minute,  it 
would  discharge  water  enough  to  cover  an  acre  arid  a  half 
of  ground  one  foot  deep. 

It  is  impossible,  at  present,  to  tell  from  what  height  these 
columns  fell  after  they  were  formed;  but  their  velocity, 
when  they  reached  the  earth,  was  very  .great,  as  will  more 
clearly  appear  from  the  following  phenomenon. 

Immediately  after  I  arrived  at  Hollidaysburg,  I  went  to 
an  eminence  and  looked  round  on  all  the  neighboring  hills, 
and  I  discovered  to  the  north  west,  near  the  top  of  Lehigh 
Ridge,  in  the  midst  of  a  very  dense  foliage,  a  naked  space, 
to  which  I  called  the  attention  of  several  of  the  citizens  who 
were  with  me.  They  all  assured  me  that  there  was  no 
field  there,  as  the  side  of  the  ridge  was  quite  too  steep  to 
be  ploughed. 

I  determined  to  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to  visit  this 
spot,  in  hopes  of  finding  something  which  might  throw  some 
light  on  the  subject  of  my  investigation.  Accordingly,  after  I 
had  examined  the  ridges  mentioned  above,  the  next  day  I 
took  a  horse,  and,  in  company  with  a  citizen  of  Hollidaysburg, 
who  kindly  offered  to  conduct  me,  rode  to  the  foot  of  the 


380  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

ridge,  and  leaving  our  horses  there,  we  ascended  the  side 
next  to  the  east  (for  the  ridge  runs  nearly  north  and  south), 
and,  with  much  labor  and  fatigue,  reached  the  spot  where 
the  water  had  descended.  It  was  near  the  top  of  the  ridge, 
in  the  midst  of  an  exceedingly  dense  woods,  especially  of 
undergrowth,  so  thick  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  walk 
through  it. 

We  found  here  a  basin  scooped  out  clean  to  the  solid 
rock,  about  five  and  one  half  feet  deep,  and  thirty-nine  feet 
in  diameter.  The  water,  in  cutting  to  this  depth,  had  not 
spent  all  its  force,  and  it  rebounded  and  did  not  touch  the 
ground  again  until  it  passed  twenty-one  feet  down  the  slope 
of  the  ridge.  When  it  struck  the  ground  again,  it  cut  out,  in 
the  earth  which  was  very  hard,  mingled  with  stones,  a  space 
about  forty  feet  long,  three  feet  deep  and  fifteen  feet  wide, 
on  the  south  side  of  its  path,  down  the  side  of  the  ridge. 
This  path  was  about  as  wide  as  the  basin,  but  as  the 
ground  was  very  hard  it  was  not  torn  out  many  inches 
deep,  except  in  places  where  deep  gullies  and  holes  were 
formed  quite  down  to  the  base  of  the  mountain,  which  was 
probably  about  half  a  mile. 

The  few  large  trees  which  grew  in  the  range  of  its  path, 
were  nearly  all  left  standing;  but  all  the  small  growth,  of 
only  a  few  inches  in  diameter,  was  either  entirely  torn  out, 
or  prostrated  down  the  hill,  and  the  leaves  torn  off,  so  as  to 
cause  the  path  to  appear  at  a  distance  quite  naked,  and  as 
if  fresh  ploughed. 

As  we  returned  to  town  by  a  different  road,  we  discov- 
ered, in  a  field  near  the  road,  on  the  side  of  a  hill  facing 
the  south  east,  seven  small  basins  only  a  few  inches  deep, 
and  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  in-  a  space  of  perhaps 
fifty  or  sixty  yards  in  diameter.  These  basins  were  not 
in  a  row,  as  they  were  in  all  other  places  where  more  than 
two  were  near  together.  Nor  were  they  nearly  at  the  same 
distance  apart,  as  the  others  were.  Three  of  them  were 
almost  touching  each  other,  and  the  other  four  were  more 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  381 

remote.  The  earth,  which  had  been  cut  out  from  these 
basins,  had  been  carried  down  to  the  base  of  the  hill  by 
the  water,  over  the  top  of  the  grass,  without  tearing  up  the 
grass  itself.  The  hill  was  pretty  steep  to  be  cultivated,  but 
it  was,  perhaps,  not  quite  one  hundred  feet  high.  These  ba- 
sins were  about  half  a  mile  from  the  base  of  Lehigh  Ridge, 
on  the  south  east. 

On  coming  down  south  east,  about  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  further,  we  found,  on  the  south  west  bank  of  the  Ju- 
niata,  three  basins  exactly  in  a  row,  and  nearly  of  the  same 
size,  about  three  feet  deep,  twenty-one  feet  in  diameter,  and 
twenty-seven  yards  apart.  These  basins  were  almost  ex- 
actly round,  and  their  bottoms  were  washed  out  clean  in 
very  hard  clay.  It  was  only  about  thirty  feet  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bank  from  these  basins,  and  there  was  but  little 
ground  washed  out  below.  There  was,  however,  drift 
lodged  on  the  upper  side  of  a  tree  in  one  of  the  paths,  three 
feet  high. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  this,  down  the  river,  on  the 
other  side,  there  were  two  small  basins  so  near  together  that 
their  rims  touched  each  other,  and  their  paths  united  below. 
They  are  about  three  feet  deep,  and  nine  feet  in  diameter. 
There  is  a  large  stump  of  a  tree  between  them,  which  is 
not  washed  out;  and  if  this  had  not  been  there,  it  is  possi- 
ble these  two  spouts  would  have  appeared  but  one,  by  the 
whole  middle  space  being  washed  out.  Was  this  one  de- 
scending column,  which  wavered  during  its  fall  ? 

About  a  mile  up  the  river,  on  this  same  north  east  side, 
we  found,  on  the  side  of  a  very  steep  cliff,  whose  base  was 
washed  by  the  river,  what  may  have  been  merely  a  slide, 
and  it  certainly  would  have  been  so  esteemed,  if  the  basins 
had  not  been  discovered.  Here  there  was  no  basin ;  the 
whole  of  the  soil  down  to  the  solid  rock  was  washed  off 
clean,  and  the  large  trees  which  grew  on  it  were  washed 
out,  and  were  standing  on  their  lower  ends,  or  roots,  lean- 


382  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

ing  against  the  steep  cliff.  The  depth  of  the  soil  and  earth 
washed  off  could  not  be  estimated,  as  the  debris  was  swept 
off  by  the  Juriiata. 

The  next  day  I  visited  Poplar  Run,  about  five  miles 
south  west  from  Hollidaysbnrg.  I  found  there,  on  the  east 
side  of  a  high  ridge  (a  continuation  of  Lehigh  Ridge,  I  be- 
lieve,) about  one  third  of  its  whole  height  from  its  base,  a 
basin  twenty-nine  feet  in  diameter,  and  between  three  and 
four  feet  deep.  The  side  of  this  hill  was  covered  with  so 
dense  a  growth  of  underwood  that  it  was  impossible  to  reach 
the  basin,  except  by  following  the  opening  which  the  water 
had  made  in  descending  down  to  the  base  of  the  hill.  This 
opening  was  quite  similar  to  the  one  before  described,  of 
thirty-nine  feet  diameter,  on  Lehigh  Ridge.  The  earth  be- 
low the  basin  was  not  torn  up  very  deep,  as  many  of  the 
shrubs  had  their  roots  still  sticking  in  the  earth  where  they 
had  grown,  though  they  were  all  prostrated,  which  made 
the  ground  look  at  a  distance  as  if  it  were  fresh  ploughed. 
About  half  a  mile  east  from  this,  on  the  west  side  of  a  very 
steep  cliff  bordering  Poplar  Run,  were  two  basins  not  far  up 
from  the  base  of  the  cliff,  about  two  hundred  yards  apart. 
These  basins  were  small,  and  did  not  differ  materially  from 
those  first  described. 

The  great  mass  of  water  which  fell  in  this  remarka- 
ble flood,  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  a  space  ten  or 
twelve  miles  in  diameter,  having  its  centre  a  little  south 
west  of  Hollidaysburg.  The  flood  did  not  extend  to  any  of 
the  waters  beyond  the  Alleghany,  though  I  was  informed 
by  a  gentleman  who  lives  west  of  the  summit  level,  eight 
or  nine  miles  from  Hollidaysburg,  that  there  was  a  very  hard 
rain  there,  and  that  it  beat  in  violently  on  the  north  west 
side  of  his  house. 

On  the  east  side  of  Hollidaysburg,  probably  from  about 
fifteen  to  twenty  miles,  as  appears  by  the  evidence  of  Mr. 
McDowell,  there  was  a  hard  rain,  with  most  violent  east 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  383 

wind,  even  a  little  earlier  than  the  commencement  of  the 
rain  in  Hollidaysburg.  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  in  what 
direction  the  wind  blew  either  on  the  north  or  south  of  the 
storm.  At  Hollidaysburg  itself  the  wind  was  not  remarka- 
ble; many  could  not  even  recollect  that  there  was  any 
wind;  but  several  recollected  some  strong  puffs,  and  also 
that  the  rain  beat  into  their  houses  on  the  north  east  side. 
Many  also  remarked,  and  pointed  out  to  their  friends  at  the 
time,  how  strange  it  was  that  the  clouds  seemed  to  touch 
the  ground,  and  to  meet  each  other  from  the  north  and 
south.  These  phenomena  were  particularly  noticed  by 
many  citizens  of  Hollidaysburg. 

Hollidaysburg,  June  19th,  1838. 

193.  Four  o'clock,  A.  M.,  rain  falling  in  torrents;  light- 
ning flashing  with  but  little  intermission;  long  and  loud 
peals  of  thunder,  with  an  occasional  clap,  that  makes  the 
earth  tremble;  wind  from  the  east  —  increased  until  five 
o'clock,  continued,  with  little  variation,  until  seven,  when 
the  wind  ceased,  and  about  half  an  hour  after,  it  ceased 
raining. 


WM.  HETHERINGTON. 

.lexandria,  Huntingdon  Co.,  20  miles      > 
east  of  Hollidaysburg,  ICth  Feb.  1839.  > 


JAMES  P.  ESPY,  ESQ., 

SIR,  —  In  answer  to  your  inquiry,  respecting  the  weather 
on  the  night  of  the  18th,  and  morning  of  the  19th  June. 
On  the  night  of  the  18th  June,  about  nine  o'clock,  the  wind 
north  east,  very  dark  clouds  from  all  points  concentrated  in 
a  north  west  direction  from  this  place,  with  a  constant  glare 
of  lightning  and  thunder.  Commenced  raining  here  about 
two,  A.  M.,  and  continued  until  daylight,  not  remarkably 
hard.  On  the  morning  of  the  19th  June,  a  gentle  breeze 
from  the  west,  air  warm  —  cleared  off  about  nine,  A.  M. 

Most  respectfully  yours, 

CHARLES  PORTER. 


384  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Hollidaysburg,  July  30th,  1838. 
To  MR.  ESPY, 

DEAR  SIR,  —  In  compliance  with  your  request  on  Satur- 
day evening,  I  will  endeavor  to  describe,  as  well  as  my  re- 
collection will  enable  me,  that  part  of  the  tornado  which  I 
witnessed,  while  on  my  way  from  Hollidaysburg,  to  Hunt- 
ingdon, Pennsylvania,  on  the  night  of  the  19th  of  June  last. 
At  about  ten  o'clock,  my  attention  was  arrested  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  thick  darkness,  which  increased  with  aston- 
ishing rapidity  ;  so  much  so,  that  in  a  few  moments  after  I 
first  observed  it,  it  overspread  the  whole  western  heavens, 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  scan.  I  should  have  observed,  that 
before  I  took  any  notice  of  this  phenomenon,  the  night  was 
remarkably  calm  and  serene  —  with  the  wind  at  about 
south  east,  as  nearly  as  I  could  distinguish,  from  the  gentle 
breeze  which  was  then  stirring.  At  about  half  past  eleven 
o'clock,  the  wind  changed  from  south  east  to  due  east,  the 
wind  blew  violently  at  this  time,  when  it  began  to  rain 
moderately.  At  about  twelve  o'clock,  all  was,  as  it  were, 
the  "  blackness  of  darkness,"  the  rain  descending  in  tor- 
rents, and  large  sheets  of  very  vivid  lightning  darting  from 
south  to  north,  in  quick  succession,  accompanied  with  tre- 
mendous peals  of  thunder.  The  wind  was  still  blowing 
from  the  east,  when  I  left  the  deck  of  the  boat  to  seek  shel- 
ter from  the  violence  of  the  tempest,  which,  at  that  moment, 
for  terrific  fury,  entirely  mocked  all  description.  The  above 
is  as  good  a  description,  as  my  memory  will  permit  me  to 
give,  not  having  charged  it  particularly  with  what  I  saw. 

Yours  truly, 

THOMAS  C.  MCDOWELL. 

This  remarkable  storm,  with  all  its  most  wonderful  phe- 
nomena, is  not  without  example,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
as  will  appear  from  the  following  copious  details. 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  385 

Letter  from  Professor  Silliman. 

[Sillimaivs  Journal,  Vol.  15.] 

194.  We  have  passed  the  day  in  the  Notch  of  the  White 
Mountains,  examining  the  scenery,  the  geology,  and  the 
ruins.  The  avalanches  were  very  numerous ;  they  were 
not,  however,  ruptures  of  the  main  foundation  rock  of  the 
mountain,  but  slides  1  from  very  steep  declivities;  beginning, 
in  many  instances,  at  the  very  mountain  top,  and  carrying 
down,  in  one  promiscuous  and  frightful  ruin,  forests,  and 
shrubs,  and  the  earth  which  sustained  them  ;  stones  and 
rocks  innumerable,  and  many  of  great  size,  such  as  would 
fill  each  a  common  apartment ;  the  slide  took  every  thing 
with  it,  down  to  the  solid  mountain  rock,  and  being  pro- 
duced by  torrents  of  water,  which  appear  to  have  burst  like 
water  spouts  upon  the  mountains,  after  they  had  been  tho- 
roughly soaked  with  heavy  rains,  thus  loosening  all  the 
materials  that  were  not  solid,  and  the  trees,  pushed  and 
wrung  by  fierce  winds,  acted  as. so  many  levers,  arid  pre- 
pared every  thing  for  the  awful  catastrophe.  No  tradi- 
tion existed  of  any  slide  in  former  times,  and  such  as  are 
now  observed  to  have  formerly  happened,  had  been  com- 
pletely veiled  by  forest  growth,  and  shrubs.  At  length,  on 
the  28th  of  June,  two  months  before  the  fatal  avalanche, 
there  was  one  not  far  from  the  Willey  house,  which  so  far 
alarmed  the  family,  that  they  erected  an  encampment  a  lit- 
tle distance  from  their  dwelling,  intending  it  as  a  place  of 
refuge.  On  the  fatal  night  it  was  impenetrably  dark,  and 
frightfully  tempestuous ;  the  lonely  family  had  retired  to 
rest,  in  their  humble  dwelling,  six  miles  from  the  nearest 
human  creature.  The  avalanches  descended  in  every  part 
of  the  gulf,  for  a  distance  of  two  miles;  and  a  very  heavy 
one  began  on  the  mountain  top,  immediately  above  the 
house,  and  descended  in  a  direct  line  towards  it;  the  sweep- 
ing torrent,  a  river  from  the  clouds,  and  a  river  full  of  trees, 

1  The  words  "  slides  "  and"  avalanches  "  do  not  seem  appropriate.  — AUTHOR. 
49 


386  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

earth,  stones,  and  rocks,  rushed  to  the  house,  and  marvel- 
lously divided  within  six  feet  of  it,  and  just  behind  it,  and 
passed  on  either  side,  sweeping  away  the  stable  and  horses, 
and  completely  encircling  the  dwelling,  but  leaving  it  un- 
touched. At  this  iime,  probably  towards  midnight,  (as 
the  state  of  the  beds  and  apparel,  &c.,  shewed  that  they 
had  retired  to  rest,)  the  family  probably  issued  from  their 
house,  and  were  swept  away  by  the  torrent ;  five  beauti- 
ful children,  from  twelve  to  two  years  of  age,  being  of  the 
number. 

This  catastrophe  presents  a  very  striking  example  of 
sudden  diluvial  action,  and  enables  one  to  form  some  feeble 
conception  of  the  universal  effects  of  the  vindictive  deluge 
which  once  swept  every  mountain,  and  ravaged  every 
plain  and  defile.  In  the  present  instance,  there  was  not 
one  avalanche  only,  but  many.  The  most  extensive  single 
one,  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  barrier  which  forms  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  notch.  It  was  described  to  us  by 
Mr.  Abbot,  of  Con  way,  as  having  slid,  in  the  whole,  three 
miles,  with  an  average  breadth  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile ;  it 
overwhelmed  a  bridge,  and  filled  a  river  course,  turning  the 
stream,  and  now  presents  an  unparalleled  mass  of  ruins. 
There  are  places  on  the  declivities  of  the  mountains,  in  the 
notch,  where  acres  of  the  steep  sides  were  swept  bare  of 
their  forests,  and  of  every  movable  thing,  and  the  naked 
rock  is  now  exposed  to  view.  In  the  greater  number  of 
instances,  however,  the  avalanches  commenced  almost  at 
the  mountain  top,  or  high  upon  its  slope.  We  pursued 
some  of  them  to  a  considerable  distance  up  the  mountain, 
and  two  gentlemen  of  our  party,  with  much  toil,  followed 
one  of  them  quite  to  the  summit.  The  excavation  com- 
mencing, generally,  as  soon  as  there  was  anything  mova- 
ble, in  a  trench  of  a  few  yards  in  depth,  and  of  a  few  rods 
in  width,  descends  down  the  mountains,  widening  and 
deepening,  till  it  becomes  a  frightful  chasm,  like  a  vast 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  387 

irregular  hollow  cone,  with  its  apex  near  the  mountain  top, 
and  its  base  at  its  foot,  and  there  spreading  out  into  a  wide 
and  deep  mass  of  ruins,  of  transported  earth,  gravel  stones, 
rocks  and  forest  trees. 

Mr.  Wilcox,  among  other  things,  says,  "  On  Wednesday, 
the  weather  being  clear  and  beautiful,  and  the  waters  hav- 
ing subsided,  six  gentlemen,  with  a  guide,  went  to  Mount 
Washington,  and  one  accompanied  Mr.  Crawford  to  the 
"  Notch,"  from  which  nothing  had  yet  been  heard.  We 
met  again  at  evening,  and  related  to  each  other  what  we 
had  seen.  The  party  who  went  to  the  mountain  were  five 
hours  in  reaching  the  site  of  the  camp,  instead  of  three,  the 
usual  time.  The  path,  for  nearly  one  third  of  the  distance, 
was  so  much  excavated,  or  covered  with  miry  sand,  or 
blocked  up  with  flood  wood,  that  they  were  obliged  to  grope 
their  way  through  thickets  almost  impenetrable,  where  one 
generation  of  trees  after  another  had  risen  and  fallen,  and 
were  now  lying  across  each  other  in  every  direction,  and  in 
various  stages  of  decay.  The  camp  itself  had  been  wholly 
swept  away;  and  the  bed  of  the  rivulet  by  which  it  had 
stood  was  now  more  than  ten  rods  wide,  and  with  banks 
from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  high.  Four  or  five  other  brooks 
were  passed,  whose  beds  were  enlarged,  some  of  them  to 
twice  the  extent  of  this  ;  in  several  the  water  was  now  only 
three  or  four  feet  wide,  while  the  bed,  of  ten,  fifteen,  or 
twenty  rods  in  width,  was  covered  for  miles  with  stones 
from  two  to  five  feet  in  diameter,  that  had  been  rolled  down 
the  mountains  and  through  the  forest,  by  thousands,  bear- 
ing every  thing  before  them,  not  a  tree,  or  the  root  of  a  tree, 
remained  in  their  path.  Immense  piles  of  hemlocks,  and 
other  trees,  with  their  limbs  and  bark  entirely  bruised  off, 
were  lodged  all  the  way,  on  both  sides,  as  they  had  been 
driven  in  among  the  standing  and  half  standing  trees  on 
the  banks.  While  the  party  were  climbing  the  mountain 
thirty  slides  were  counted,  some  of  which  began  near  the 


388  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

line  where  the  soil  and  vegetation  terminate,  and  growing 
wider  as  they  descended,  were  estimated  to  contain  more 
than  a  hundred  acres.  These  were  all  on  the  western  side 
of  the  mountains.  They  were  composed  of  the  whole  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  with  all  its  growth  of  woods,  and  its  loose 
rocks,  to  the  depth  of  fifteen,  twenty,  and  thirty  feet.  And 
wherever  the  slides  of  the  two  projecting  mountains  met, 
forming  a  vast  ravine,  the  depth  was  still  greater. 

Such  was  the  report  which  the  party  from  the  mountains 
gave.  The  intelligence  which  Mr.  Crawford,  and  the  gen- 
tleman accompanying  him,  brought  from  the  Notch,  was  of 
a  more  melancholy  nature.  The  road,  though  a  turnpike, 
was  in  such  a  state,  that  they  were  obliged  to  walk  to  the 
Notch  house,  lately  kept  by  Mr.  Willey,  a  distance  of  six 
miles.  All  the  bridges  over  the  Amonoosuck,  five  in  num- 
ber, those  over  the  Saco,  and  those  over  the  tributary  streams 
of  both,  were  gone.  In  some  places,  the  road  was  exca- 
vated to  the  depth  of  fifteen  and  twenty  feet,  and,  in  others, 
it  was  covered  with  earth  and  rocks  and  trees,  to  as  great 
a  height.  In  the  Notch,  and  along  the  deep  defile  below  it, 
for  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  Notch  house,  and  as  far  as  could 
be  seen  beyond  it,  no  appearance  of  the  road,  except  in  one 
place,  for  two  or  three  rods,  could  be  discovered.  The  steep 
sides  of  the  mountain,  first  on  one  hand,  then  on  the  other, 
and  then  on  both,  had  slid  down  into  this  narrow  passage, 
and  formed  a  continued  mass  from  one  end  to  the  other;  so 
that  a  turnpike  will  probably  not  be  made  through  it  again 
very  soon,  if  ever.  The  Notch  house  was  found  uninjured, 
though  the  barn  adjoining  it  by  a  shed,  was  crushed,  and 
under  its  ruins  were  two  dead  horses.  The  house  was  en- 
tirely deserted  ;  the  beds  were  tumbled,  their  covering  was 
turned  down,  and  near  them,  upon  chairs  and  on  the  floor, 
lay  the  wearing  apparel  of  the  several  members  of  the  fam- 
ily, while  the  money  and  papers  of  Mr.  Willey,  were  lying 
in  his  open  bar.  From  these  circumstances,  it  seemed  al- 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  389 

most  certain,  that  the  whole  family  were  destroyed  ;  and  it 
soon  became  quite  so,  by  the  arrival  of  a  brother  of  Mr. 
Crawford  from  his  fathers,  six  miles  farther  east.  From 
him,  we  learnt  that  the  valley  of  the  Saco,  for  many  miles, 
presented  an  uninterrupted  scene  of  desolation.  The  two 
Crawfords  were  the  nearest  neighbors  of  Willey.  Two 
days  had  now  elapsed  since  the  storm,  and  nothing  had 
been  heard  of  his  family  in  either  direction.  There  was 
no  longer  any  room  to  doubt,  that  they  had  been  alarmed 
by  the  noise  of  the  destruction  around  them,  had  sprung 
from  their  beds,  and  fled  naked  from  the  house,  and,  in  utter 
darkness,  had  been  soon  overtaken  by  the  falling  mountains 
and  rushing  torrents.  The  family,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  amiable  and  respectable,  consisted  of  nine  persons,  Mr. 
Willey  and  his  wife  and  five  children  of  theirs,  with  a  hired 
man  and  boy.  After  the  fall  of  a  single  slide,  last  June, 
they  were  more  ready  to  take  the  alarm,  though  they  did 
not  consider  their  situation  dangerous,  as  none  had  ever 
been  known  to  fall  there  previous  to  this.  Whether  more 
rain  fell  now  than  had  ever  been  known  to  fall  before  in 
the  same  length  of  time,  at  least,  since  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains were  covered  with  so  heavy  a  growth  of  woods,  or 
whether  the  slides  were  produced  by  the  falling  of  such  a 
quantity  of  rain  so  suddenly,  after  the  earth  had  been  ren- 
dered light  and  loose  by  the  long  drought,  I  am  utterly  un- 
able to  say.  All  I  know  is,  that  at  the  close  of  a  rainy  day, 
the  clouds  seomed  all  to  come  together  over  the  White 
Mountains,  and  at  midnight  discharged  their  contents  at  once 
in  a  terrible  bust  of  rain,  which  produced  the  effects  that 
have  now  been  described.  Why  these  effects  were  pro- 
duced now,  and  never  before,  is  known  only  to  Him  who 
can  rend  the  heavens  when  he  will,  and  come  down  and 
cause  the  mountains  to  flow  down  at  his  presence. 
Yours,  &c. 

CARLOS  WILCOX. 


390  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Letter  of  Mr.  Theron  Baldwin. 

NEW  HAVEN,  AUGUST  14,  1828. 
To  PROFESSOR  SILLIMAN, 

SIR,  —  The  following  notice,  first  issued  at  Montpelier, 
went  the  rounds  of  the  papers  in  the  course  of  the  last 

summer. 

MONTPELIER,  JULY  10,  1827. 

Avalanche.  —  A  gentleman  at  Fayston,  on  whose  vera- 
city the  most  implicit  reliance  may  be  placed,  has  obligingly 
furnished  us  with  the  following  account  of  an  avalanche  of 
earth  or  slide  of  the  mountain  in  Lincoln,  Addison  county, 
on  the  27th  ult.,  occasioned  by  the  late  abundant  and  almost 
incessant  rains.     On  the  30th  of  June,  I  went,  in  company 
with  sixteen  of  my  neighbors,  to  visit  the  spot  so  singularly 
marked  by  Providence,  which  I  am  now  about  to  describe. 
I  found  the  slide  to  commence  near  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
between  two  large  rocks,  which  were  stripped  of  earth, 
opening  a  passage  of  four  rods  wide,  from  which  it  pro- 
ceeded in  a  south  easterly  direction,   gradually  widening 
for  the  distance  of  two  hundred  rods,  to  the  south  branch 
of  Mill  Brook,  in  Fayston.     In  its  course,  it  swept  every 
thing  in  its  way,  overturning  trees  by  their  roots,  divesting 
them  of  roots,  branches  and  bark,  and  often  breaking  them 
in  short  pieces.     A  number  of  rocks,  judged  to  weigh  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  Ions,  were  moved  some  distance.     From 
where  it  entered  Mill  Brook,  its  course  "was  in  a  north  east- 
erly direction,   two  hundred  and  eighty  rods,  the  natural 
course  of  the  brook  being  very  small ;  but  the  channel,  cut 
by  this  torrent,  is  now  from  two  to  ten  rods  in  width,  and, 
on  either  side,  are  large  quantities  of  flood  wood  piled  up 
very  high,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  rods  of  the  lower  part,  it 
is  blocked  up  across  the  channel  in  every  direction;  some 
of  the  trees  are  standing  on  their  tops,  and  generally  strip- 
ped of  roots,  branches  and  bark,  and  broken  into  many 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  391 

pieces.  The  pile,  in  some  places,  is  ten  feet  high.  Much 
of  the  timber  is  apparently  buried  several  feet  in  sand  and 
mud.  One  large  birch  tree  was  broken  off  square,  measur- 
ing three  feet  nine  inches  where  it  was  broken.  One  black 
ash  was  literally  pounded  into  a  broom,  whose  brush  is 
seven  feet  long.  The  whole  distance  of  these  ravages  is  a 
mile  and  half,  and  the  quantity  of  land  thus  suddenly  met- 
amorphosed into  a  barren  waste,  is  twenty- five  acres.  The 
force  of  water  must  have  been  very  great,  at  which,  we 
cannot  wonder,  when  we  consider  its  probable  depth.  In 
some  places,  from  appearances,  it  must  have  been  thirty  feet 
high.  Some  of  the  trees  on  the  sides  of  the  channel,  were 
barked  thirty  or  forty  feet  high,  and  there  was  mud  on  them 
at  that  height.  T.  B. 

When  this  statement  appeared,  finding  it  difficult  to  con- 
ceive how,  in  those  circumstances,  causes  adequate  to  the 
production  of  such  effects  could  be  put  into  operation,  I 
resolved,  should  opportunity  offer,  to  see  for  myself.  Such 
an  one  presented  itself  in  the  month  of  May  last.  Accord- 
ingly, on  a  fine  morning,  in  company  with  a  single  compan- 
ion, I  started  from  a  place  in  Fayston,  distant  about  seven 
miles  from  the  slide,  eager  to  behold  this  scene  of  desola- 
tion, and  enjoy  a  ramble  on  the  Green  Mountains.  Three 
or  four  of  the  last  miles,  lay  through  an  entire  forest,  and 
our  only  guide  was  Mill  Brook,  which  came  dashing  down 
through  the  wilderness.  During  our  ascent,  we  found  a 
number  of  streams  emptying  into  this;  but  the  marks  of 
the  flood  were  so  evident,  that  we  had  no  difficulty  in  de- 
ciding which  to  follow.  The  indications  continued  to  grow 
more  distinct  as  we  advanced,  till  what  for  hours  we  had 
so  eagerly  looked  for,  broke  upon  our  view ;  and  we  emerged 
from  the  forest  into  an  astonishing  scene  of  devastation. 
For  a  time,  1  could  not  credit  my  own  eyes;  and  while 
standing  in  the  midst  of  this  desolation,  found  it  almost  im- 


392  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

possible  to  bring  my  imagination  up  to  the  conception,  that 
a  physical  force  could  be  accumulated  in  that  place,  suffi- 
cient to  accomplish  the  wonders  with  which  I  was  sur- 
rounded. 

I  would  here  remark,  that  the  statements  of  "  T.  B.,"  as 
to  distances,  &c.,  may  be  relied  on  as  correct ;  for  I  was 
told  by  one  of  the  sixteen  who  visited  the  spot  (as  above 
related),  that  they  had  a  chain  with  them  which  was  used 
in  making  the  measurements.  I  conversed  with  a  number 
of  individuals  in  the  vicinity,  all  of  whom  appeared  to  be 
well  acquainted  with  the  facts  and  ready  to  communicate 
them.  The  slide  happened  in  the  forenoon.  The  report 
was  heard  at  the  distance  of  several  miles,  and  by  some 
was  thought  to  be  an  earthquake,  by  others  a  clap  of  thun- 
der, although  they  could  not  account  for  its  long  continu- 
ance. I  was  told  that  it  produced  a  very  perceptible  jar, 
similar  to  that  of  a  peal  of  thunder.  Had  not  the  mountain 
been  enveloped  in  fog,  perhaps  some  favored  mortal  might 
have  witnessed  from  an  adjacent  eminence  the  appalling 
spectacle  of  rocks  and  woods  and  waters  roaring  and  rush- 
ing in  frightful  confusion  down  this  precipitous  descent. 
Various  conjectures  were  afloat  with  regard  to  it,  but  as  the 
fog  vanished  from  the  mountain,  the  true  cause  of  the  thun- 
dering and  jarring  was  displayed  to  the  view  of  the  inhab- 
itants upon  the  distant  hills.  It  is  visible  from  some  of  the 
adjacent  towns,  and  has  the  appearance  of  a  field  recently 
ploughed.  Fortunately,  as  it  was  a  number  of  miles  dis- 
tant from  any  human  abode,  wild  beasts  alone  were  ex- 
posed to  its  ravages.  A  similar  occurrence  took  place  a 
few  years  since  upon  the  same  peak,  but  on  a  much  smaller 
scale. 

In  its  whole  course,  before  reaching  Mill  Brook,  it  swept 
through  a  dense  forest,  mostly  of  hemlock  and  spruce,  and 
took  off  the  entire  surface  and  every  thing  which  it  con- 
tained. The  ground  appeared  to  be  as  free  from  roots  as  if 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  393 

it  had  been  tilled  for  fifty  years.  We  observed  some  trees 
so  firmly  rooted  in  the  rocks,  that  they  could  not  be  drawn 
out,  which  were  pounded  off  upon  a  level  with  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  as  if  they  had  been  but  slender  reeds.  At 
some  distance  above  the  stream,  the  mass  parted  and  left  a 
few  rods  square  of  timber  standing;  but  soon  united  again, 
and,  rushing  on  in  all  its  tremendous  power,  struck  ob- 
liquely against  the  opposite  bank  of  Mill  Brook,  with  a  con- 
cussion that  must  have  shaken  the  everlasting  hill.  This 
bank  rises  very  precipitously,  and  forms  the  base  of  another 
peak,  which  towers  to  a  great  height.  At  this  place  we 
judged  the  width  of  desolation  to  be  twenty-five  or  thirty 
rods.  As  the  frightful  moving  mass  now  struck  against  an 
immovable  barrier,  and  its  line  of  direction  must  be  chang- 
ed before  it  could  follow  the  course  of  the  stream,  we  should 
expect  a  greater  accumulation  of  water,  &c.,  &c.,  at  this 
place,  than  at  any  other;  and  just  below  the  point  where 
this  wreck  of  the  mountain  tumbled  into  Mill  Brook,  I 
should  not  think  it  exaggeration  to  say,  that  a  perpendicu- 
lar, raised  from  the  bed  of  the  stream  as  it  now  runs,  to  a 
line  drawn  across  the  channel,  and  connecting  points  on 
either  side,  where  logs,  sticks,  &c.,  lie,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  show  that  they  must  have  been  washed  there  by  the  cur- 
rent, would  equal  one  hundred  feet  in  length.  It  is  certainly 
surprising  how,  even  on  a  mountain  as  precipitous  as  this, 
such  a  mass,  starting  with  a  width  of  only  four  rods,  could 
acquire  sufficient  momentum  to  carry  before  it  an  entire 
forest  and  rocks  of  an  enormous  size ;  but  gravity  created 
that  resistless  power,  which  could  so  many  times  change  its 
direction  and  urge  it  down  the  stream  in  defiance  of  all  the 
obstacles  that  opposed  ils  progress,  and  where  the  elevation 
was  constantly  lessening.  The  principal  and  immediate 
agent  was  water,  otherwise  the  mass  would  not  have  pro- 
ceeded farther  than  where  it  struck  Mill  Brook,  for  it  is 
easy  to  see,  that  a  mass  composed  merely  of  trees  and  rocks 

50 


394  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS.        ;   ; 

and  sand,  however  enormous  its  bulk  or  tremendous  its 
momentum,  could  not  have  gone  much  farther  than  the 
first  two  hundred  rods. 

But  how  could  the  water  accumulate  on  the  sides  of  that 
precipitous  mountain  to  the  depth  of  thirty  feet  (as  stated 
hy  T.  B.),  which  I  should  think  a  moderate  statement  ? 
This  question  arose  as  I  stood  gazing  in  astonishment,  and 
I  was  strongly  inclined  to  pronounce  it  impossible,  notwith- 
standing facts  which  undeniably  proved  the  contrary,  that 
were  staring  me  in  the  face.  But  it  will  not  appear  incred- 
ible, when  we  consider  that  the  timber  above  Mill  Brook 
was  principally  hemlock  and  spruce,  the  boughs  of  which 
would  be  extremely  well  calculated  to  produce  an  obstruc- 
tion of  the  flood.  A  dam  might  easily  be  formed  of  the 
logs,  boughs,  rocks,  and  earth  which  composed  this  mighty 
moving  mass,  and  the  upturning  of  thousands  of  trees  with 
the  soil  adhering  to  their  roots,  would  greatly  aid  in  effect- 
ing the  object.  And  this  appears  to  have  been  its  modus 
operandi  throughout  the  whole  course.  The  ground  was 
desperately  disputed,  but  whenever  a  stop  was  given  to  the 
progress,  the  foaming  torrent  would  accumulate  behind,, 
till  it  had  gathered  sufficient  force  to  burst  every  barrier, — 
and  again  the  huge  pile  proceeded,  thundering  down  the 
mountain. 

The  forest  seems  to  have  been  prostrated  with  as  much 
ease  as  if  it  had  been  but  a  field  of  grain.  The  mass  evi- 
dently went  down  in  the  wildest  confusion  ;  the  trees  some- 
times erect,  or  sweeping  around  their  branchless  trunks  in 
"horrid  circles,"  would  level  tremendous  blows  at  those 
upon  the  banks  of  the  stream,  as  appeared  by  the  bark 
frequently  taken  off  at  a  great  height ;  now  their  tops 
and  roots  alternately  projecting  forward,  and  again  lying 
across  the  current,  were  shivered  in  an  instant.  They  are 
left  in  considerable  numbers  throughout  the  whole  course; 
some  lying  upon  the  banks,  others  in  the  channel,  and 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  395 

wholly  or  in  part  buried  in  the  sand  and  rocks.  But  the 
principal  part  of  the  timber  swept  from  these  twenty-five 
acres,  lies  piled  in  a  confused  heap,  covering  perhaps  an 
acre  of  ground,  and  four  hundred  and  eighty  rods  (one  and 
a  half  miles)  from  the  spot  where  the  slide  commenced  ! 
Here  having  already  spent  much  of  its  force,  and  the  moun- 
tain growing  less  precipitous,  it  struck  into  a  cluster  of 
firmly-rooted  trees,  and  was  compelled  to  stop.  At  this 
place  it  presents  a  perpendicular  wall  of  logs,  &c.,  across 
the  entire  channel,  in  some  places  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high. 
The  upper  end  of  the  pile  is  buried  beneath  the  sand  and 
stones,  and  the  stream  now  runs  over  the  top.  Perhaps 
those  very  logs  will  be  dug  out  in  after  times  as  fossil  wood. 
Every  thing  in  this  mass  bears  the  marks  of  the  greatest 
violence.  Almost  every  tree  is  as  completely  divested  of 
its  roots,  branches,  and  bark,  as  could  have  been  effected 
by  man  with  the  proper  instruments.  They  are  pounded 
and  splintered,  and  broken  into  all  imaginable  shapes  and 
lengths.  We  felt  ourselves  amply  repaid  for  our  labor.  It 
is  well  worth  the  attention  of  the  lovers  of  the  marvellous, 
and  especially  of  every  one  who  has  never  witnessed  such 
tremendous  effects  accomplished  by  the  agency  of  water. 
I  shall  never  more  doubt  that  water  is  adequate  to  the  pro- 
duction of  any  of  those  effects  which  are  generally  ascribed 
to  the  delude.  But  I  must  confess,  sir,  that  while  attending 
your  lectures  upon  this  interesting  subject,  I  always  had  a 
kind  of  incredulity  with  regard  to  this  point,  which  went 
very  far  to  weaken  the  force  of  conclusions  fairly  deduced 
from  physical  phenomena,  of  whose  actual  existence  I  could 
not  entertain  a  doubt,  And  while  standing  upon  that 
mountain,  I  realized  the  force  of  a  remark  which  you  have 
often  made,  that  we  can  never  be  properly  prepared  to  rea- 
son upon  the  phenomena  of  the  deluge  till  we  have  taken 
the  field  and  witnessed  for  ourselves  the  effects  of  those  con- 
vulsions which  have  devastated  the  surface  of  our  planet. 
Yours,  respectfully ,  THERON  BALDWIN. 


396  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

An  Account  of  a  Remarkable  Storm  which  occurred  at 
Catskill,  July  2$th,  1819. 

[Silliman's  Journal,  Vol.  4.] 

195.  About  half  past  three,  P.  M.,  three  distinct  clouds, 
dense  and  black,  arose  in  the  south  east,  in  quick  succession. 
A  brisk  shower  followed.  A  fresh  wind  blew  for  a  little  period; 
but  before  four  o'clock,  a  calm  ensued,  which  lasted  nearly 
an  hour.  A  short  suspension  of  the  rain  took  place  soon 
after  five  o'clock.  The  whole  quantity  which  had  de- 
scended between  this  time  and  the  commencement  of  the 
storm,  was  considerable.  About  half  past  five,  another 
dense  and  black  cloud,  accompanied  by  a  fresh  wind,  arose 
from  the  south  west.  Shortly  before  the  cloud  reached  the 
zenith,  three  vivid  streaks  of  lightning  issued  from  it,  ap- 
pearing like  branches  of  the  same  flash.  About  the  same 
time,  or  immediately  after,  a  very  thick  and  dark  cloud 
rose  up  rapidly  from  the  northeast.  They  met  immediately 
over  the  town.  At  this  instant,  a  powerful  rain  commenced. 
The  air  soon  became  so  obscure,  that  trees,  buildings,  and 
other  objects,  could  not  be  discerned  at  the  distance  of  a 
few  yards.  The  obscurity  did  not  appear  to  arise  from  a 
fog  of  the  usual  kind,  but  from  the  abundance  of  rain  and 
the  low  descent  of  the  clouds,  which  seemed  to  rest  on  the 
ground,  or  to  hang  a  little  above  it.  After  the  clouds  met, 
the  wind  became  very  variable  and  blew  for  short  periods 
from  almost  every  point  of  the  compass.  At  times,  it  came 
with  so  much  force  as  to  drive  the  rain  in  a  very  unusual 
manner  through  the  crevices  in  doors  and  windows  and  the 
roofs  of  dwelling  houses.  Many  houses  which  had  never 
before  been  known  to  leak,  at  this  time  admitted  great 
quantities  of  water.  In  several  instances  the  wind  sud- 
denly abated,  and  a  calm  of  a  few  minutes  ensued.  The 
lightning  and  thunder  were  unusually  severe.  The  thun- 
der frequently  resembled  a  violent  crash,  and  was  as  sud- 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  397 

den  and  of  as  short  continuance  as  the  sound  caused  by  the 
firing  of  a  cannon,  or  by  the  snapping  of  a  whip.  The 
rain  descended  at  times  in  very  large  drops,  and  at  times  in 
streams  and  sheets.  During  the  storm,  four  or  five  inter- 
missions, each  of  about  eight  or  ten  minutes,  occurred  also 
in  the  rain.  In  each  instance,  it  excited  a  hope  that  the 
storm  was  over;  but  this  hope  was  soon  dissipated  by  the 
appearance  of  fresh  torrents.  The  extreme  violence  of  the 
rain  terminated  before  half  past  six  o'clock,  though  it  con- 
tinued to  descend  quite  briskly  until  nine;  and  moderately 
until  ten.  It  did  not  entirely  cease  until  eleven.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  ascertain,  with  exactness,  the  quantity  which  fell 
during  the  storm.  It  seems  probable,  from  facts  mentioned 
hereafter,  that  it  exceeded  fifteen  inches  on  a  level.  Some 
remarkable  phenomena  occurred  in  various  places.  At  the 
Point,  just  before  the  clouds  met,  two  sloops  were  observed, 
sailing  before  the  wind,  under  a  full  press  of  sail,  one  sail- 
ing rapidly  up  the  stream,  the  other  more  rapidly  down. 
They  met  near  the  north  end  of  the  island,  when  the  north 
east  wind  prevailed. 

About  the  same  time,  the  sloop  Admiral  started  from  the 
lower  wharf  for  New  York.  At  the  moment  of  starting, 
two  persons  received  slight  electrical  shocks  from  one  of  the 
three  streaks  of  lightning  mentioned  above.  Several  panes 
of  glass  were  broken  in  a  store  situated  a  few  feet  distant. 
One  of  these  persons  immediately  after  the  shock,  noticed 
strong  luminous  flashes  or  sparks  on  one  of  his  arms,  and 
felt  a  jar  throughout  his  frame,  and  a  sensation  similar  to 
that  which  is  experienced  when  a  hand  or  foot  is  asleep: 
the  other  felt  a  jar  similar  to  that  occasioned  by  a  blow  on 
the  breast.  No  other  injury  was  done  to  the  store  and  none 
to  the  vessel.  When  the  sloop  had  proceeded  about  three 
fourths  of  a  mile,  the  air  had  become  so  obscure  that  those 
on  board  were  unable  to  discern  any  object  a  few  yards 
distant.  At  this  time,  another  flash  of  lightning  was  dis- 


398  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

charged,  about  the  sloop,  and  one  of  the  persons  before- 
mentioned,  received  a  much  more  violent  shock,  which 
caused  him  to  fall  on  the  deck  instantaneously.  He  was  at 
this  time  drenched  with  water,  and  from  this  cause,  proba- 
bly, revived  sufficiently  to  get  to  the  cabin.  In  a  short 
time  he  felt  no  other  effects  from  the  shock  but  a  numbness 
which  affected  his  arms  for  an  indefinite  period.  While  he 
lay  on  the  deck,  a  gentleman  standing  by  observed  nu- 
merous flashes  or  sparks  of  light  about  his  body,  resembling 
those  issuing  from  a  firebrand  when  whirled  swiftly  round. 
They  were  accompanied  by  a  crackling,  snapping  noise. 
Another  person  experienced  a  slight  shock  which  occasioned 
such  numbness  in  one  of  his  arms  as  to  prevent  his  using  it 
for  a  short  time.  There  was  an  iron  spindle  at  the  top  of 
the  mast,  for  suspending  the  colors,  but  no  lightning  rod. 
No  injury  was  done  to  the  sloop.  Was  that  part  of  the 
cloud  from  which  the  lightning  issued  lower  than  the  top  of 
the  mast? 

Several,  then  on  the  deck,  noticed  that  at  this  time  the 
rain  descended  in  streams  and  sheets.  The  gentleman 
above  mentioned,  states  that  at  orte  time  the  water  on  the 
quarter  deck  accumulated  so  fast,  from  the  rain  only,  as  to 
be  higher  than  his  shoes. 

A  gentleman  in  the  south  store,  at  the  Point,  feeling  much 
anxiety  for  his  friends  on  the  sloop,  observed  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  storm  with  more  exactness  than  any  one 
with  whom  I  have  conversed.  His  account  is  as  follows  : 

When  the  clouds  met,  they  appeared  to  fall  down  on  the 
river,  between  the  store  and  Livingston's  wharf,  on  the  east 
bank.  The  cloud  rested  upon  the  water  in  such  a  manner 
that  he  could  discover  no  space  between  them.  As  it  came 
over,  it  appeared  extremely  dark  at  the  bottom,  and  as 
white  as  a  snow  bank  at  the  top.  The  air  became  so  ob- 
scure, suddenly,  that  he  was  unable  to  see  any  part  of  a 
large  perriauger  which  lay  at  his  wharf,  thirty  feet  distant, 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  399 

except  that  he  could  barely  distinguish  the  poles.  He  par- 
ticularly noticed  that  he  could  see  no  drops  of  rain,  but  the 
water  seemed  to  descend  in  streams  and  sheets.  The  rain 
was  most  copious  between  a  quarter  before  six  and  a  quarter 
after  six.  In  this  half  hour,  he  estimates  the  descent  of 
water  to  have  exceeded  twelve  inches  upon  a  level.  At  an 
inn,  thirty  rods  northward,  the  family  were  unable  to  see  a 
sloop,  lying  in  the  creek  at  the  distance  of  twenty  rods. 
At  another  inn,  close  by,  a  man  who  stood  for  some  time 
at  the  door,  could  not  see  any  part  of  a  barn  only  four  rods 
distant. 

Some  time  after  the  clouds  met,  two  persons  observed  a 
water  spont  rising  up  from  the  river,  and  nearly  opposite, 
with  a  broad  bottom.  It  ascended  with  a  whirling  motion 
to  the  clouds,  in  the  form  of  a  pretty  regular  cone.  The 
innkeeper  noticed,  some  time  in  the  afternoon,  two  other 
water  spouts,  from  three  fourths  of  a  mile  to  a  mile,  up 
stream.  They  rose  up  in  like  manner,  with  broad  bottoms, 
and  terminated  in  points  as  they  reached  the  clouds.  They 
could  not  recollect  at  what  time  these  phenomena  took 
place. 

The  whole  quantity  of  water  which  fell  at  the  Point  is 
estimated  to  have  exceeded  15|  inches,  on  a  level.  I  am 
persuaded  this  estimate  is  not  too  large.  The  rain  extended 
with  equal  or  greater  violence,  eight  miles  west  from  the 
Point,  about  three  miles  north,  and  seven  miles  south.  On 
the  east  side  of  the  Hudson,  at  a  little  distance,  it' did  not 
descend  with  peculiar  violence,  or  in  an  unusual  quantity. 
At  Athens,  four  miles  north,  it  was  far  less  severe  than  in 
Catskill ;  and  at  Cairo,  ten  miles  west,  it  was  light.  Should 
we,  then,  estimate  the  whole  tract  on  which  the  rain  de- 
scended with  peculiar  violence,  and  in  quantities  never  be- 
fore known  in  that  section  since  its  first  settlement,  at  eighty 
square  miles,  we  should  not,  probably,  be  very  far  from  the 
truth :  and  on  this  tract,  I  am  persuaded}  the  water  was 


400  PHILOSOPHY  OF.  STORMS. 

full  fifteen  inches  on  a  level.  On  a  considerable  part  of  the 
tract,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  exceeded  eighteen 
inches. 

After  describing  a  great  many  disastrous  effects  of  the 
storm,  Mr.  Dwight  goes  on  to  observe  that,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Madison,  the  storm  produced  ravages  not  less 
remarkable.  At  no  great  distance  northward  from  the  vil- 
lage is  a  mountain,  estimated  to  be  six  hundred  feet  perpen- 
dicular height,  above  the  plane  below.  The  south  end  of 
this  mountain,  which  abuts  upon  the  flat,  which  I  mentioned 
as  having  probably  been  the  bed  of  an  ancient  lake,  is  about 
one  mile  north  north  west  from  Madison  church.  The  brow 
of  the  mountain  here,  is  about  half  the  elevation  of  the  sum- 
mit. There  is  at  this  place  a  ledge  of  horizontal  rocks,  run- 
ning a  considerable  distance,  and  terminating  abruptly, 
with  a  perpendicular  precipice  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet. 
The  surface  of  the  mountain  descends  for  some  distance 
back  to  this  place.  The  water  accumulating  from  above, 
poured  down  the  precipice  with  such  impetuosity,  as  to  up- 
root all  the  trees  in  its  course,  down  to  the  bottom,  a  dis- 
tance of  several  hundred  feet.  The  descent  is  rapid  from 
the  foot  of  the  precipice  to  the  bottom  of  the  mountain. 
Throughout  this  distance  a  large  ravine  was  formed.  All 
the  trees,  and  earth,  and  stones  beneath,  were  washed  away 
down  to  the  solid  rock,  which  lay  below;  and  the  whole 
mass  except  the  trees  was  precipitated  beyond  the  road, 
which  winds  near  the  base,  upon  a  tract  of  arable  and 
meadow  land  which  it  covered,  as  I  was  informed  by  Mr. 
S.,  a  gentleman  who  had  examined  the  ground  with  atten- 
tion, to  the  extent  of  two  acres,  and  to  the  depth  of  from 
six  to  ten  feet.  No  water,  if  I  am  not  misinformed,  has 
been  known  to  run  in  this  place,  heretofore.  The  descent 
of  the  water  down  the  precipice  occasioned  a  loud  roaring 
sound,  like  that  of  distant  rolling  thunder,  and  excited  no 
small  astonishment  at  the  distance  of  a  mile. 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  401 

On  the  eastern  declivity  of  the  same  mountain,  about  two 
miles  north  of  Madison  church,  a  portion  of  ground  about 
forty-five  feet  in  length,  and  of  about  the  same  breadth,  was 
entirely  removed  to  the  average  depth  of  four  feet.  This 
ground,  and  all  that  adjoining  to  it,  was  previously  covered 
with  forest  trees.  The  trees  on  this  plat  were  all  borne 
away.  It  seems  remarkable  that  the  excavation  commen- 
ced suddenly,  being  of  the  full  width,  and  depth,  at  the  top. 
Neither  was  there  any  appearance  of  water  having  run  from 
the  grounds  above,  the  decayed  leaves  and  brush  wood  be- 
ing in  place.  I  have  not  examined  this  spot,  but  received 
the  above  particulars  from  a  respectable  farmer,  residing  in 
ths  neighborhood. 

In  a  south  western  course  from  Madison,  distant  from  one 
to  two  miles,  there  is  a  high  and  sharp  ridge,  on  which  are 
several  similar  ravages.  This  ridge  or  mountain,  which  is 
upwards  of  four  hundred  feet  in  perpendicular  height,  above 
the  plain  below,  was  throughout,  so  far  as  can  be  seen  on 
the  eastern  side,  covered  thickly  with  forest  trees.  The 
eastern  acclivity  is  as  steep  generally,  as  the  sharp  roof  of 
a  dwelling  house.  The  largest  excavation  is  about  two 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  wide  at  the  bottom.  Owing  to  the 
steepness  of  the  acclivity,  I  could  not  measure  its  length, 
or  the  width  at  the  top.  I  estimated  the  height  to  exceed 
three  hundred  feet.  Tracing  it  from  the  bottom  up  the 
acclivity,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  it  becomes  fork- 
ed, or  divided  into  two  branches,  with  a  tongue  of  land 
between,  which  is  covered  with  trees  and  shrubs.  Below 
the  fork,  all  the  trees  except  two  small  ones,  and  the  shrubs, 
were  torn  up  by  the  roots,  and  carried  by  the  force  of  the 
waters  to  the  bottom.  The  ground,  which  was  composed  of 
soil  of  a  moderate  thickness,  and  of  gravel  and  stones  un- 
derneath, was  washed  away  to  the  depth  of  four,  five,  or 
six  feet  in  most  places  ;  and  in  some  instances  to  the  deptlp. 
of  ten  feet  or  upwards.  Below  this  are  ledges  of  horizontal 
51 


402  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

rocks,  which  have  been  laid  bare  to  a  considerable  extent, 
and  which  were  before  invisible,  rising  tier  above  tier,  and 
receding  from  below  upwards.  A  great  quantity  of  earth 
and  stones  were  washed  into  the  plane  below,  together  with 
a  part  of  the  trees,  and  shrubs,  and  carried  to  the  distance 
of  ten,  twenty,  and  in  some  instances  thirty,  rods.  A  much 
larger  mass  lies  immediately  at  the  bottom.  The  trees  have 
been  since  chiefly  removed.  There  are  two  or  three  other 
similar  excavations  not  far  distant.  They  may  be  seen  at 
the  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  on  the  high  grounds 
eastward. 

South  of  this  ridge,  at  the  distance  of  one  or  two  miles,  is 
another  of  less  elevation,  presenting  on  the  eastern  declivity 
similar  ravages,  in  two  or  more  places.  These  I  did  not 
examine  particularly. 

Generally,  it  may  be  stated  that,  within  the  limits  of  this 
township  there  are  nine  or  ten  similar  excavations  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains,  and  sharp  ridges,  which  were  occa- 
sioned by  this  storm ;  that  in  each  instance  there  exists  no 
reason  to  believe  that  the  water  was  accumulated  from  the 
neighboring  grounds ;  that  the  ravages  commenced  sud- 
denly, and  are  large  and  deep  at  their  commencement ;  that 
the  dead  leaves  and  brush  lying  immediately  above,  and  at 
the  sides,  do  not  appear  to  bear  any  marks  of  a  change  of 
position,  nor  to  have  been  in  any  manner  disturbed  from  the 
flowing  of  water;  and  that  the  configuration  of  the  ground 
is  in  each  instance  such,  as  to  forbid  the  supposition,  that 
the  water  might  have  accumulated  from  the  adjoining 
ground.  Did  a  cloud  highly  surcharged  with  water,  rest 
upon  each  of  these  places,  till  its  contents  were  emptied? 
Did  water-spouts  discharge  themselves  here  ? 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  403 

The  following  letter  from  Professor  Park,  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania,  is  interesting,  in  connection  with  the 
subject  of  Meteoric  Rivers. 

PHILADELPHIA,  October  5,  1838. 
JAMES  P.  ESPY,  Esq. 

DEAR  SIR, — In  answer  to  your  inquiries  concerning  the 
slides  or  washes  of  the  White  Mountains,  which  I  have  re- 
cently visited,  I  would  unhesitatingly  state  my  conviction, 
that  they  are  produced,  not  hy  abrasion  from  the  ordinary 
falling  of  rain,  but  by  very  sudden  and  copious  discharges 
of  water  falling  collectively  from  the  clouds  or  regions  of 
the  air.  Many  of  these  washes  commence  so  near  the  brow 
of  the  mountain,  that  there  is  no  space  above  for  the  rain  to 
accumulate,  to  produce  such  enormous  effects.  Neither  do 
I  think  that  the  water  could  have  been  obstructed  or  dam- 
med up  on  those  steep  slopes,  so  as  to  have  acquired  suffi- 
cient head  and  momentum  to  carry  all  before  it,  earth, 
rocks  and  trees,  in  one  mighty  deluge.  A  river  falling  from 
the  clouds  with  resistless  force,  could  alone  account  to  me 
for  such  effects,  and  I  believe  this  is  the  opinion  of  those 
writers  who  visited  there  soon  after  the  melancholy  disaster 
of  1826,  when  the  Willey  family  were  whelmed  in  an  un- 
timely grave.  There  are  not  less  than  thirty  or  forty  of 
these  slides  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mount  Washington 
range;  but  my  remarks  apply  more  especially  to  those  on 
each  side  of  the  Notch,  further  south  and  east,  which  are 
much  more  numerous.  Every  thing  is  swept  away  there, 
down  to  the  solid  rock,  even  close  to  the  summits,  and 
where  there  is  no  basin  above  or  behind  to  collect  the  fall- 
ing waters.  Very  respectfully,  yours, 

ROSWELL  PARK. 


404  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


Notice  of  a  Hurricane  which  ravaged  the  Island  of  Teneriffe, 
in  the  month  of  November,  1836. 

[By  M.  S.  BERTHELOT.     Annalesde  Chemic.  &  de  Phys.    Vol.  Iviii.  p.  209.] 

Towards  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  the  water-spouts  fell 
on  the  culminating  tops,  tore  away  the  soil,  laid  bare  the 
rocks,  razed  the  forest,  and  caused  this  mingled  mass  to  roll 
through  the  windings  of  the  ravines.  This  confused  mass, 
on  reaching  the  coast,  with  the  overflowing  torrents,  sapped 
the  fortresses  situated  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley,  and  en- 
tirely destroyed  them.  In  this  manner,  in  the  bay  of  St. 
Croix,  an  extensive  fortification  was  swept  away,  with  all 
its  arms.  And  the  strong  castle  of  Candalasia,  and  one  of 
those  which  defended  the  port  of  Orotava,  disappeared, 
without  leaving  a  trace.  This  terrible  storm  produced  ex- 
traordinary events  in  the  narrow  passages  in  the  mountain 
tops.  I  was  myself  struck  by  it  in  retracing  anew  that 
high  point  about  a  month  after  the  event.  Besides  the  rain, 
which  did  not  cease  to  fall  during  twenty-four  hours,  and 
which  a  furious  wind  rendered  more  violent,  it  appears  that 
these  water-spouts  fell  on  the  points  which  offered  the  most 
attraction  to  meteors,  such  as  the  peak,  and  the  adjacent 
country.  The  ground  was  turned  up  in  a  circumference  of 
more  than  six  hundred  feet,  and  to  a  depth  of  from  twenty 
to  thirty  feet  in  the  circuit  of  the  Canadas,  which  showed 
the  action  of  the  water  in  hollowing  out  the  earth,  by  its 
being  discharged  with  impetuosity.  Mr.  Alison,  who  went 
over  the  place  at  the  time  of  his  ascension  to  the  Peak,  in 
February,  1828,  gave  me  a  description  of  one  of  those  ex- 
cavations, which  his  guides  showed  as  the  effect  of  the 
storm.  He  perceived  distinctly  the  trace  of  a  water-spout  ; 
all  the  land  had  been  inundated  for  the  space  of  a  circle, 
marked  by  furrows  disposed  in  concentric  circles,  such  as 
are  sometimes  produced  by  whirlwinds  in  a  sandy  soil. 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  405 

This  water-spout  must  have  been  enormous,  since,  accord- 
ing to  the  English  philosopher,  the  waters  at  first  collected 
in  this  bog,  escaped  afterwards  by  an  inclined  plane,  and 
dug  or  scooped  out  a  ravine,  which  extends  even  now  as 
far  as  the  valley  of  Orotava.  After  the  account  we  have 
given,  you  can  judge  of  the  terrible  effects  of  the  storm. 

The  topographic  details  into  which  I  have  entered,  were 
necessary,  to  cause  the  situation  of  the  places  to  be  well  un- 
derstood, which  was  more  particularly  the  scene  of  disaster. 
We  can  thus  appreciate  better  the  chance  resulting  from 
the  position  of  the  valleys  in  relation  to  the  superior  regions, 
and  perceive  the  reason  of  the  causes  which  render  them 
the  principal  scenes  of  the  catastrophe,  or  which  preserves 
them  from  its  effects, — so  we  may  understand  how,  in  the 
district  of  Guiana,  the  ravines  of  Badajos  and  Chicayca  be- 
come small  rivers,  carried  off  in  overflowing  the  lands  of  the 
coast,  a  part  of  the  vineyards  of  that  valley ;  how,  also,  on 
the  ravines  of  the  Peak,  the  torrents  ravaged  the  valley  of 
Orotava,  and  rendered  sterile  places  previously  fertile.  The 
barrancos  of  Tafuriaste,  of  an  appearance  so  picturesque  in 
its  steeps,  its  cascades,  and  the  groves  of  trees  which  orna- 
ment its  banks,  was  covered  with  gravel,  and  levelled  from 
the  centre  of  the  valley  to  its  border.  In  the  same  district, 
the  hamlet  of  Quiquira,  situated  on  one  of  the  arms  of  the 
great  ravine  of  Harena,  was  swallowed  up  entirely  ;  one  of 
the  sides  of  the  volcanic  projection  of  Realexo  was  swept 
off  by  the  shock  of  the  waters,  and  a  whole  portion  of  land 
disappeared  ;  the  impulse  of  the  torrent  increasing  in 
strength  with  the  inclination  of  the  soil,  carried  off  the 
whole  suburb  of  the  port  of  Orotava.  On  the  sides  of  the 
bulk,  comprised  in  the  district  of  Taora  and  those  of  Icod 
and  los  Vina,  torrents,  precipitated  from  the  culminating 
heights,  dragged  every  thing  before  them;  the  village  of 
La  Guancha  was  taken  off,  with  fifty-two  inhabitants  and 
three  hundred  animals ;  St.  John  de  la  Rambla,  situated 


406  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

underneath,  experienced  great  losses.  In  the  bay  of  St. 
Croix,  the  torrent  of  Barranco  Santo  increased  amazingly 
on  the  night  of  the  storm ;  the  impulse  of  the  current  be- 
came more  violent  at  the  mouth  of  the  ravine,  and  was  felt 
in  the  port,  and  was  sufficient  to  send  out  a  vessel  on  the 
point  of  landing. 

Such  were  the  effects  of  the  storm  which  ravaged  Tene- 
riffe ;  as  to  the  phenomena  which  was  manifested  in  the 
duration,  I  shall  relate  the  events  communicated  to  me  by 
two  persons  worthy  of  confidence.  I  shall  have  little  to 
say  from  my  own  observations,  as  I  was  very  much  occu- 
pied from  the  time  the  storm  began  till  it  was  over. 

On  the  6th  of  November,  I  was  at  La  Laguna ;  it  was 
some  hours  before  the  event.  My  friend,  Dr.  Savinon,  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  in  the  university  of  St.  Ferdinando, 
advised  me  to  remain  with  him,  or  to  hasten  to  my  home 
at  St.  Croix.  I  recollect  his  very  words.  "  Since  this  morn- 
ing," said  he,  "  my  barometer  has  been  moving.  Some- 
thing extraordinary  will  take  place  in  the  air.  Hasten  and 
depart  before  the  heavy  shower."  I  followed  his  advice, 
and  was  convinced,  on  the  road  home,  of  the  truth  of  his 
warning.  The  wind,  which  was  at  the  S.  W.,  before  my 
leaving  the  doctor,  had  passed  to  the  south,  and  seemed  to 
incline  to  the  east.  This  tendency  in  the  wind  to  run  over 
the  parts  of  the  horizon,  unravelled  at  once  the  first  evi- 
dence of  a  phenomenon,  which  I  had  twice  witnessed  in 
America.  It  was  indeed  the  storm  of  the  Antilles,  it  came 
with  its  forerunners,  but  this  time,  beyond  its  ordinary 
limits,  it  rushed  on  a  region  which  I  should  have  thought 
sheltered  from  its  ravages.  Masses  of  black  clouds  were 
gathered  round  the  horizon,  and  seemed  to  ascend  rapidly 
to  the  zenith;  a  long  train  of  light  clouds  stretched  from 
the  south  east  to  the  north  west,  and  the  sky  became  darker 
every  instant.  The  air  was  suffocating,  transparent  and 
sonorous,  the  wind  came  in  squalls,  accompanied  by  large 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  407 

drops  of  rain ;  however,  the  thunder  was  not  heard,  and 
this  calm  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest  was  alarming.  An 
hour  had  passed  ere  I  arrived  at  the  coast.  The  wind 
blew  with  violence  all  the  morning;  the  sea,  already  rough, 
became  more  and  more  so  in  the  afternoon  ;  each  surf  shook 
the  pier  of  St.  Croix,  and  undermined  "the  foundations. 
The  wind  went  to  the  east,  and  there  soon  came  a  furious 
storm,  accompanied  with  rain. 

At  three  o'clock,  two  big  ships  broke  cables,  and  were 
thrown  on  the  shore;  at  nine  o'clock,  it  was  difficult  to 
stand  on  the  wharf,  as  the  hurricane  had  so  much  increased 
in  violence.  A  three-masted  vessel  from  America,  which 
had  not  had  time  to  set  sail,  was  thrown  up  against  the  end 
of  the  pier,  and  disappeared  immediately.  I  passed  part  of 
the  night  on  the  sea  shore,  ready  to  help  the  vessels  in  dis- 
tress ;  my  mind  was  a  prey  to  different  impressions,  in  this 
continual  agitation,  wishing  to  see  all  for  myself,  and  to 
judge  of  all,  so  as  to  lose  nothing  of  this  magnificent  spec- 
tacle, and  incapable  withal,  of  any  observation.  Towards 
the  middle  of  the  night,  the  wind  passed  from  the  north 
east  to  the  north  west,  the  wind  continued  till  the  next  day, 
and  light  broke  upon  new  misfortunes.  Accounts  which 
reached  us  from  all  parts  of  the  island,  were  distressing, 
and  those  which  we  had  from  the  valley  of  the  Orotava, 
where  my  habitation  was,  were  still  more  alarming.  I  was 
tormented  by  a  thousand  fears ;  I  knew  not  my  friend's 
fate,  I  was  told  that  my  home  was  in  ruins,  and  I  trembled 
for  my  collections,  my  library,  and  rny  manuscripts.  At 
the  end  of  three  days,  I  learned  that  nothing  had  suffered. 
Below  is  a  fragment  of  a  letter,  from  Mr.  Auter,  Professor 
of  Mathematics,  in  the  College  of  Orotava. 

OROTAVA,  November  10th,  1826. 

The  6th  of  November,  during  part  of  the  day,  the  heav- 
ens were  covered  with  clouds,  and  the  atmosphere  was  so 


408  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

clear  and  transparent,  that  objects  could  be  distinguished  at 
great  distances;  the  air  was  very  sonorous,  the  roaring  of 
the  waves  was  louder  than  usual;  the  refraction  was  very 
sensible,  and  seemed  to  raise  the  objects  above  the  natural 
horizon.  The  wind  blew  from  the  south  west,  and  towards 
night  the  sky  was  overcast  with  black  clouds ;  the  vapor 
accumulated  on  the  height  which  surrounded  the  valley, 
and  covered  it  with  a  dark  veil.  However,  no  sign  of  elec- 
tricity was  seen.  The  rain  began  at  sunset,  and  soon  fell  in 
torrents;  the  wind  went  round  to  the  northward,  every  in- 
stant the  tempest  increased.  Towards  midnight,  the  tor- 
rent threatened  to  overflow  the  town,  the  hissings  of  the 
wind  on  the  prominent  parts  of  houses,  seemed  mournful ; 
the  noise  of  the  waves  and  the  breaking  of  the  water,  seemed 
to  unite  to  produce  extraordinary  effects.  About  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  I  saw  a  light  resembling  an  aurora  borealis, 
but  more  bright.  Streaks  of  light  shot  from  the  centre  to 
the  north  of  my  house,  which  reached  to  the  forty-second  de- 
gree. The  interposition  of  the  convent  of  St.  Francis,  pre- 
vented me  from  seeing  the  focus  of  these  phosphorescent 
lights,  which  lasted  from  seven  to  eight  minutes,  and  disap- 
peared again  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  This  luminous 
phenomenon  was  very  interesting,  and  I  watched  to  try  to 
discover  the  cause.  The  light  appeared  again,  more  bril- 
liant and  more  extended  than  before,  and  this  time,  the 
focus  had  changed  its  position,  although  concealed  by  the 
hills  on  the  coast.  This  light  disappeared  again  to  show 
itself  in  different  places.  All  continued  to  attract  my  at- 
tention, when  I  saw  globes  of  fire  in  different  directions. 
These  new  meteors  crossed  quickly  in  diameter,  but  they 
did  not  shoot  out  so  much  light  as  at  first,  they  seemed  to 
float  on  the  waves ;  some  seemed  at  several  leagues  from 
the  shore,  whilst  the  others  shot  streaks  behind  the  eleva- 
tion on  the  coast. 

In  turning  to  the  south  west,  I  perceived  some  at  the  foot 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  409 

of  the  Tygayga  Mountains,  about  a  league  from  the  coast, 
and,  no  doubt,  there  were  others,  in  other  directions  on  the 
heights  which  overlooked  the  valley.  These  meteors  dis- 
appeared at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  at  six,  the  rain 
fell  in  torrents,  and  the  wind,  which  had  changed  succes- 
sively its  direction,  blew  violently.  I  went  out,  desirous 
of  learning  if  the  meteors  had  been  seen  by  others,  and  in 
fact,  I  learned  that  several  persons  had  remarked  the  same 
fire.  Some  persons,  who  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  car- 
ried off  by  the  torrents,  but  who  had  been  saved,  declared 
that  they  had  seen  great  lights  on  the  waves  on  which  they 
were  borne,  and  that  every  effort  which  they  had  made 
to  reach  the  edge  of  the  ravine,  was  accompanied  by  a 
burst  of  light,  which  appeared  to  rise  from  the  water.  To 
these  interesting  observations,  I  will  add  a  note  sent  me  by 
Dr.  Savinon;  I  give  it  here  literally.  On  the  morning  of 
the  6th  of  November,  the  sky  was  perfectly  clear;  towards 
mid-day,  the  wind  blew  from  the  south  west,  and  though 
the  squalls  of  wind  were  not  yet  accompanied  by  rain,  the 
horizon  was  covered  with  heavy  clouds.  The  wind  con- 
tinued all  day  and  all  the  next  night,  although  about  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  its  impetuosity  had  diminished  con- 
siderably. 

The  barometer  stood  at  28.532  inches,  (English  meas- 
ure);  however,  at  half  past  ten,  the  wind  passed  round  to 
the  north,  then  to  the  north  west,  with  increasing  violence, 
and  at  midnight,  it  became  a  furious  storm,  and  the  rain 
which  accompanied  this  meteor,  was  so  abundant  as  to 
change  the  ravines  into  dangerous  torrents.  On  the  7th  of 
November,  at  one  in  the  morning,  the  barometer  had  fallen 
to  27.87  inches,  and  the  strength  of  the  wind  had  rapidly 
increased.  It  no  longer  came  in  squalls,  it  was  one  contin- 
ued current,  and  such  was  its  fury,  that  it  tore  up  the  larg- 
est trees,  and  sometimes  even  threw  down  entire  forests. 
The  tempest  continued  with  the  same  violence  till  daybreak. 
52 


410  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

At  seven  in  the  morning,  the  barometer  rose  one  tenth  of  an 
inch,  and,  from  that  instant,  the  storm  began  to  diminish. 
At  ten  o'clock,  the  barometer  again  rose  some  thousandths 
of  an  inch,  and  the  rain  ceased  almost  entirely,  but  the 
wind  continued  to  blow  quite  violently  until  night.  At  last, 
on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  November,  the  barometer  rose 
to  28.42  inches,  and  serenity  was  once  more  established  in  the 
atmosphere. 


Mr.  Alison's  Narrative  of  an  Excursion  to  the  Summit  of 
the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  in  February,  1829. 

198.  Fifteen  minutes  after  leaving  the  last  barranco,  we 
crossed  another,  called  Pilloni,  which  is  rather  more  than 
3,000  feet  above  the  sea ;  and  soon  after,  we  entered  the 
Barranco  del  Pino  Dornajito,  which  is  3,410  feet  above  the 
sea ;  it  is  so  named,  from  an  enormous  pine  tree,  that  grew 
near  the  western  side  of  the  ravine.  It  is  said,  that  this 
tree  was  full  grown  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  the  island, 
360  years  ago ;  thus,  having  stood  the  storms  of  so  many 
ages,  it  was  at  last  swept  into  the  ravine,  by  the  dreadful 
water-spout  that  devastated  the  island  on  the  7th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1826.  Although  this  tree  is  partly  destroyed  by  its 
fall,  yet  it  still  measures  128  feet  in  length,  and  30  in  cir- 
cumference. Under  a  precipice,  in  the  middle  of  the  ravine, 
is  a  small  spring  of  water,  with  a  wooden  cross  at  the  side 
of  it;  the  temperature  of  the  spring  was  56°,  but  it  appears 
to  vary  more  than  any  other  which  I  have  examined,  as  in 
October,  the  temperature  of  the  water  was  65°. 5.  At  the 
time  of  the  beforementioned  water-spout,  a  body  of  water, 
some  hundred  feet  wide,  and  thirty  or  forty  deep,  fell  over 
this  spring  and  cross,  without  doing  it  the  least  damage ; 
which  the  peasantry  attribute  to  the  Divine  interposition, 
forgetting  that  the  water,  in  falling  from  the  height  above, 
would  form  a  curve,  and  effectually  protect  it  from  injury. 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  411 

At  |  to  eight,  A.  M.,  we  crossed  the  ravine,  named  Fuer- 
rael  Monte,  and  entered  the  Llanos  de  Gaspar  (the  plains 
of  Gaspar).  Here,  vegetation  became  very  scanty,  and  al- 
most the  only  plant  was  Canarian  thyme.  But  this  spot  is 
particularly  interesting,  from  its  being  evident,  that  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  water-spouts  which  deluged  the  island 
in  November,  1826,  had  burst  here,  cutting  the  surface  into 
a  vast  number  of  ravines,  some  of  them  of  great  depth. 
From  the  appearance  of  the  surface,  the  columns  of  water 
which  fell  must  have  been  very  numerous ;  as  in  ten  or 
twelve  different  places,  the  lava  is  cut  into  deep  trenches, 
some  of  them  fifteen  and  twenty  feet  deep,  with  the  soil 
which  was  between  them  completely  washed  away  by  the 
spray  or  overflowing  of  the  water.  Many  of  these  deep 
channels  frequently  converge  into  one,  forming  a  destructive 
and  overwhelming  ravine. 

Considerable  bodies  of  water  have  frequently  fallen  upon 
the  Canaries,  and  done  some  mischief  by  washing  into  the 
sea,  the  vegetable  mould  which  so  thinly  covers  the  lavas. 
But  the  visitation  of  the  6th  and  7th  of  November,  1826, 
was  the  most  awful  and  destructive,  both  to  life  and  prop- 
erty, of  any  of  which  the  inhabitants  have  any  tradition. 
My  friend.  Mr.  Auber,  of  Orotava,  has  furnished  rne  with 
the  interesting  details  of  the  phenomena  attending  this  wa- 
ter-spout, which  I  shall  here  subjoin.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  6th  of  November,  the  wind,  which  was  blowing  strongly 
from  the  northeast,  veered  round  to  every  point  of  the  com- 
pass, and  ultimately  established  itself  from  the  north  ;  but 
at  sea,  a  few  miles  from  land,  it  was  blowing  a  hurricane 
from  the  north  east,  and,  in  a  moment,  without  any  inter- 
mediate change,  it  blew  as  strongly  from  the  southwest. 
The  sky  became  obscured  all  at  once,  by  enormous  masses 
of  black  clouds,  which  hastened  the  night  sometime  before 
sunset ;  but  neither  thunder  nor  lightning  was  observed. 
The  rain  commenced  to  fall  in  torrents  towards  ten  o'clock 


412  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

at  night,  and  the  wind  to  blow  with  an  overpowering  im- 
petuosity. At  half  past  two  on  the  morning  of  the  7th, 
Mr.  Auber  observed  several  globes  of  fire  moving  upon  the 
sea,  at  various  distances  from  the  shore,  whilst  others  re- 
mained stationary.  One  of  them,  from  its  position,  ap- 
peared to  be  on  the  top  of  the  Montaneta  of  Realejo,  and 
caused  him  to  suppose  that  that  extinct  volcano  was  going 
to  threaten  the  valley  of  Orotava  with  an  eruption ;  but  he 
was  soon  undeceived,  by  observing  that  the  globe  moved 
about  on  the  surface  of  the  water  like  the  others,  and  at 
some  distance  from  the  spot  where  he  first  thought  it  was 
situated.  These  luminous  globes  appeared  to  move  towards 
the  south  west,  arid  follow  the  direction  of  the  waves.  The 
light  which  they  spread  in  the  atmosphere,  extended  more 
than  45°  high  ;  and  although  he  was  three  miles  off,  it  was 
often  sufficiently  strong  to  enable  him  to  read  rather  small 
print ;  but  no  detonation  was  heard.  The  number  of  globes 
increased  from  half  past  two  o'clock  till  four,  when  they 
began  to  diminish.  Mr.  Auber,  at  one  period  of  his  obser- 
vations, counted  fourteen  moving  about  at  one  time,  but  the 
glare  of  light  which  he  perceived  on  his  right,  where  the 
surrounding  houses  bounded  his  view,  caused  him  to  sup- 
pose their  number  to  be  much  more  considerable.  Their 
duration  was  from  one  minute,  to  five  or  six,  but  seldom 
longer ;  and  their  apparent  diameter  was  about  the  half  of 
that  of  the  moon  at  her  full,  when  she  reaches  the  zenith. 
When  they  had  all  disappeared,  the  darkness  was  extreme, 
and  he  could  not  see  the  neighboring  houses;  but  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  afterwards,  the  reappearance  of  the  same  globes, 
or  the  formation  of  new  ones,  allowed  him  to  see  the  island 
of  Palma,  though  nearly  sixty  miles  distant.  The  rain  fell 
with  equal  force  whilst  these  globes  were  appearing  on  the 
sea  and  after  their  disappearance.  It  was  mentioned,  that 
a  globe  of  fire  had  fallen  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  of 
Tygayga,  which  bounds  the  valley  of  Orotava  to  the  west, 


METEORIC   RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  413 

and  that  it  had  made  a  deep  hole  in  the  earth  ;  — search 
was  made  respecting  the  truth  of  this  assertion,  but  it  did 
not  lead  to  any  positive  result.  I  was  likewise  informed, 
that  similar  globes  of  fire  were  seen  traversing  the  Llano 
de  Gaspar,  the  spot  which  I  have  mentioned  as  bearing  such 
evident  marks  of  the  effects  of  the  water.  My  informant, 
who  was  a  small  farmer  living  near  Tygayga,  and  almost 
on  a  level  with  the  Llano  de  Gaspar,  likewise  added,  "  that 
all  the  heaths  appeared  to  be  on  fire  ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
1  saw  a  column  of  water  several  fathoms  wide,  move  across 
the  top  of  the  valley."  I  will  now  resume  the  thread  of 
my  narrative  to  the  Peak ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  pointing 
out  the  devastation  committed  in  1826,  I  shall  incur  the 
risk  of  being  thought  tedious,  by  enumerating  the  ravines 
which  I  crossed  at  the  spot,  where  the  water-spouts  appeared 
to  have  burst.  The  first  was  Barranco  de  Llano  de  Gaspar ; 
it  was  of  some  depth,  and  exposed  a  stratum  of  basaltic 
lava,  a  species  of  puzzolana,  of  considerable  thickness,  and 
a  brown  volcanic  mud  resting  on  a  bed  of  close  black  lava. 
A  little  to  the  west,  were  two  new  ravines,  which  united 
into  one,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  commencement,  and 
formed  the  barranco,  which  did  so  much  mischief  to  the 
port  of  Orotava.  The  next,  was  a  new  ravine,  and  is  only 
remarkable  for  being  the  spot  where  you  take  leave  of  the 
luxuriant  vegetation  of  the  third  zone,  and  enter  that  of  the 
cytisus,  which  may  be  termed  the  fourth  zone  of  plants. 
The  surface  here  is  a  brown  volcanic  mud,  mixed  with 
small  pieces  of  lava,  forming  a  hard  breccio  or  conglome- 
rate, with  a  slight  covering  of  vegetable  mould,  which  in 
many  places  between  the  ravines,  was  completely  washed 
away  by  the  spray  of  the  water. 

Towards  the  south  western  extremity  of  the  Llano  de 
Gaspar  is  a  spot  named  the  Camina  del  Alto,  where  there  is 
a  stream  of  trachytic  lava,  that  has  separated  at  a  short  dis- 
tance above,  and  formed  a  sort  of  half  circle.  The  two 


414  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

streams  are  nearly  destitute  of  vegetation.  Another  column 
of  water  appears  to  have  burst  here,  and  made  three  or  four 
ravines,  which  converge  into  one  a  few  hundred  feet  below. 
At  half  past  eight  o'clock,  A.  M.,  we  entered  a  part  of  the  in- 
clined plane  called  Chasquitas  Abaxo  and  Chasquitas  Arriba. 
The  ravines  here  are  very  numerous  and  some  are  so  close  to- 
gether that  there  is  hardly  space  sufficient  to  pass  between 
them.  Within  a  hundred  yards,  I  crossed  eleven,  which 
were  all  formed  in  1826,  and  in  the  upper  part  of  Chastiquas 
Arriba  the  surface  was  cut  into  almost  innumerable  trenches 
of  various  depths,  according  to  the  force  of  the  water,  or  the 
compactness  of  the  lava. 

When  we  gained  the  top  of  a  rather  steep  acclivity,  called 
Lorno  de  la  Calavera,  we  met  with  a  new  barranco  run- 
ning into  an  ancient  one  of  the  same  name  as  the  hill ;  and 
about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  it,  we  came  to  Barranco 
Juradillo,  which  is  of  an  immense  breadth  and  depth.  At 
the  spot  where  we  crossed  it,  the  torrent  had  divided  itself 
into  two  branches,  forming  a  sort  of  islet  in  the  centre. 
The  sides  of  the  ravine  were  composed  of  various  strata  of 
lava  and  mud;  the  superior  stratum  was  basaltic  trap,  occa- 
sionally inclined  to  a  columnar  formation;  the  second  was  a 
brown  volcanic  mud,  about  ten  feet  thick,  below  which  was 
trap  in  laminar  masses,  volcanic  breccia,  and  a  sort  of  colori- 
fic earth.  A  short  distance  beyond  Juradillo  we  passed  on 
our  left  hand  a  hill  of  pumice,  which  had  been  cut  down 
in  a  perpendicular  manner  to  the  depth  of  at  least  eighty 
feet,  by  the  water-spout  of  1826. 

Moray  Floods,  3d  August,  1829. 

199.  The  following  documents  were  sent  me  by  Graham 
Hutcheson,  Esq.,  of  Glasgow. 

The  following  tables,  viz.  I.,  II.,  III.,  IV.,  V.  and  VI.,  are  ex- 
tracted from  a  book,  entitled,  "An  account  of  the  great  floods 
of  August,  1 829,  in  the  province  of  Moray,  and  adjoining  dis- 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS. 


415 


tricts,  by  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lander,  Bart."   These  tables  are 
numbered  as  in  the  book  from  which  they  are  extracted. 


No.  I. 

Extract  of  a  Register  kept  at  Inverness,  by  Matthew  Adam,  A.  M.,  Rector  of  the 
Inverness  Academy.  Height  about  thirty  feet,  and  distance  from  the  sea  about 
one  mile. 


1829. 


Thermometer. 
9£,  A.  M.        Direction  of  wind. 


Aug.  2,  61C 


3, 


4, 


51° 


W. 


N. 


N. 


Barometer. 
9     A.  M. 


29.94 


29.68 


29.65 


Obscure  ;  showers  ;  wind 
and  clouds  from  W.,  calm, 
with  rain,  evening. 
Obscure  ;  light  wind  and 
heavy  rain  from  N  ;  strong 
wind,  clouds  and  rain  from 
N.  in  the  evening. 
Obscure  ;  strong  wind  and 
rain  from  N.,  nearly  calm 
in  the  evening.  Memo- 
randum, 2£  inches  of  rain 
fell  here  since  the  even- 
ing of  Sunday,  the  2d  inst. 


No.  II. 

Journal  kept  by  the  Rev.  William  Rennie  Manse,  of  Fochabers,  for  Aug.  1829. 
Latitude  57.38.  Move  the  sea,  eighty  feet.  Observations  made  about  eleven 
o'clock,  forenoon.  Fochabers  lies  about  twenty  miles  due  east  of  Findhorn. 


3829.  Barometer. 

Aug.  3,  Heavy  fall  of  rain  all  day;  high  wind,  N.W.   29.1 

4,  Heavy  rain  in  morning,  cleared  up  at  12,  N.W.   29.5 

5,  Serene  and  pleasant.  N.W.   29.7 


Thermometer. 
53 
50 
62 


No.  III. 

Journal  of  weather  kept  by  Mr.  Menzies,  at  Gordon  Castle,  for  August,  1829. 
Gordon  Castle  is  only  a  mile  from  Fochabers. 


1829. 

Aug.  2,  W.  Fair;  wind  moderate,  warm  all  day. 

3,  N.  Heavy  rain  through  the  night  and  all 

the  morning. 

4,  N.  E.     Do.  still  continues. 

5,  N.  Fair;  moderate  breezes  and  sun. 


Thermometer. 
8,  A,  M. 
61 


51 

57 


Barometer. 

8,  A.  M. 

29.6 

29.3 

29.2 
29.6 


416  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 


No.  IV. 

Weather  tables  kept  by  Mr.  Murdoch,  Gardener  to  his  Grace,  the  Duke  of  Gor- 
don, at  Huntly  Lodge.  Huntly  Lodge  is  to  the  north  east  of  the  mountains, 
and  about  twenty  miles  south  of  the  sea,  and  about  twenty  miles  south  east 
from  Fochabers. 

Thermometer.  Barometer. 

1829.                                                                         At  10,  A.M.  At  10,  A.M.    At  10.  P.  M. 

Aug.  2,  W.  Frequent  heavy  showers.            63  29.825            29.75 

3,  N.  W.  Tremendous  rain  all  day.      51  29.45            29.3 

4,  N.  Misty  rain  most  of  the  )         Kc  rto  - 

day,  3.75  inches!!!!  j         56  ^  29-75 

On  the  3d  and  4th,  the  rain  and  flood  tremendous.  In  August,  1829,  3| 
inches  of  rain  fell  between  five  o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the  3d,  and  five 
o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the  4th. 

No.  V. 

Meteorological  Table,  by  Mr.  George  Innes,  Astronomical  Calculator,  Aberdeen. 
Aberdeen  is  about  thirty-five  miles  south  east  of  Huntly.  And  due  east  from 
the  Cairngoom  Mountains  about  thirty  miles. 

Barometer. 

1829.  At  8,  A.  M.  At  9,  P.  M. 

Aug.  2,  W.  to  N.     Cloudy  with  showers.  30.16  30.20 

3,  N.  to  N.  N.  E.     Stormy  ;  much  rain ;  distant 

thunder.  29.28  29.30 

4,  N.     Cloudy  with  rain.  29.74  30.13 

No.  VI. 

State  of  the  Winds  at  Findhorn,  on  the  2d,  3d,  and  4th  August,  communicated 
by  M.  Thomas  Davidson.     Findhorn  lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  Moray  Frith, 
about  twenty-five  miles  north  east  of  Inverness. 
1829. 

Aug.  2,  9,  A.  M.  E.  N.  E.  Blowing  fresh. 
1,  P.  M.  N.  E.  Blowing  hard. 
3,  P.  M.  N.  Blowing  a  gale. 

9,  P.  M.     N.  to  N.  E.     A  little  more  moderate  ;  occasionally  blow- 
ing hard,  with  showers. 

3,  6,  A.  M.     N.  E.  Blowing  hard. 

1,  P.  M.    N.  N.          Still  blowing  hard  (I  don't  know  what  N.  N. 

means.) 
6,  P.  M.    N.  E.          Moderate  breezes. 

4,  N.  E.  to  E.  N.  E.    All  this  day  fine  weather. 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  417 

Extract  from  the  Dundee  Advertiser  of  the  6th  of  August,  1836  ;  for  Mr. 
Graham  Hutcheson,  Glasgow. 

On  Monday  night  (2d  of  August)  we  were  visited  by  a 
storm  of  almost  unprecedented  fierceness,  at  this  season  of 
the  year.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the  day  the  rain  fell 
unceasingly,  accompanied  by  a  strong  wind  from  the  north 
east,  (N.  E.)  ;  but  the  storm  did  not  commence  in  its  grand- 
eur till  seven  o'clock  at  night,  when  a  thick  gloom  began  to 
envelop  the  town.  In  a  few  minutes  after,  the  wind  blew 
a  perfect  hurricane,  and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents.  Vivid 
flashes  of  lightning,  accompanied  with  loud  thunder,  fol- 
lowed one  another  with  a  quickness  which  rendered  it  al- 
most impossible  to  observe  the  commencement  of  one  peal 
from  the  end  of  the  other.  The  streets  were  entirely  de- 
serted. About  nine  o'clock  the  storm  abated  a  little,  but 
again  commenced  with  tenfold  fury  about  eleven  o'clock, 
and  continued  till  three  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning.  Seve- 
ral trees  were  blown  down  at  the  west  end  of  the  town. 
Many  places  are  represented  as  being  much  flooded. 

The  accounts  from  all  the  surrounding  towns  are  of  a 
similar  nature.  No  further  mention  of  the  3d  or  4th  of 
August,  1829.  [Extracted  by  Wm.  Mennum,  Clerk.] 

Extracted  from  Leith  Commercial  List. 

1S29. 

Aug.  2,    W. 

3,  W. 

4,  N.  E. 

Glasgow.    Extracted  from  my  own.  [Mr.  Hutchesori  s~]  Register. 

1829. 


'  3      Raln7  '     Wind  not  marked  at  this  Pero> 

4'        11     '  i  the  same  as  at  Greenock. 

Greenock.     Extracted  from  the  Greenock  letter.     Registered  in  the  forenoon. 

f  Rain  not  stated,  but 
Aug.  2,     W.  N.  W.     Fresh  breezes  and  clear  weather.     |  probably  the  same 

3,  N.  W.     Breezes  and  cloudy  weather.  •(  as  at  Helensburgh, 

4,  N.  E.     Moderate  breezes  and  cloudy  weather.     4  miles  to  the  north 

(^of  Greenock. 
53 


418  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Helensburgh,  four  miles  north  of  Greenock.     From  Dr.  Gibbs's  Register. 

Aug.  2,     Showery,  j>  Wind  not  stated  in  the  register  at  this 

3,  Heavy  rain.  Vtime,   but  probably   the   same   as    at 

4,  Dark  and  cloudy,  but  dry.    )  Greenock. 

Liverpool.  Extracted  from  the  Liverpool  letter.  Registered  probably  about  2,  P.  M. 
Aug.  2,     N.  W. 

3,  S.  W. 

4,  N.     During  last  night,  (evening  of  3d  August,)  we  had  a  very 

heavy  gale  from  N.  N.  W. 

Passages  Extracted  from  "  An  Account  of  the  Great  Floods  of  August,  1829,  in 
|    the  Province  of  Moray,  and  adjoining  Districts,  by  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder, 
Bart. 

Page  1.  The  heat  in  the  Province  of  Moray,  during  the 
months  of  May,  June  and  July,  1829,  was  unusually  great, 
and  in  the  earlier  part  of  that  period  the  drought  was  so 
excessive  as  to  kill  many  of  the  recently  planted  shrubs  and 
trees. 

Page  3.  The  deluge  of  rain  that  produced  the  flood  of 
the  3d  and  4th  of  August,  fell  chiefly  on  the  Monadhleadh 
mountains,  rising  between  the  south  eastern  part  of  Loch 
Ness,  and  Kingussie  in  Badenoch,  and  on  that  part  of  the 
Grampian  range  forming  the  somewhat  independent  group 
of  the  Cairngorums. 

Page  4.  At  Kirkwall,  in  Orkney,  there  was  a  violent 
storm  of  wind  and  rain  on  Monday,  the  3d  of  August.  A 
similar  deluge  was  experienced  at  Wick,  and  much  damage 
was  done  in  the  parishes  of  Watten,  Halkirk  and  Latham. 
In  Sutherland  and  Ross-shire,  both  lying  to  the  westward 
of  the  line  I  have  described,  as  well  as  the  country  to  the 
north  of  Loch  Ness,  little  or  no  injury  was  sustained.  But 
the  river  Foyers,  deriving  its  source  from  the  very  moun- 
tains that  first  received  the  column  of  drifted  vapor,  was  so 
highly  flooded  as  to  destroy  Whitebridge. 

The  rivers  Nairne,  Findhorn  and  Lossie,  were  all  more 
or  less  affected  by  the  flood,  exactly  in  proportion  as  they 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  419 

were  more  or  less  connected  with  the  mountains  in  question. 
That  part  of  the  Spey  which  is  above  the  line  I  have  marked, 
was  hardly  swollen  at  all ;  while  at  Kingussie,  it  and  its 
tributaries  were  elevated  to  an  unexampled  height ;  and  the 
Deveran,  the  Don,  the  Dee  and  the  two  Esks,  were  each  of 
them  operated  upon  in  a  similar  ratio. 

Page  5.  But  the  question  as  to  the  quantity  of  rain  is 
settled  by  the  accurate  observations  of  Mr.  Murdoch,  gar- 
dener to  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  at  Huntly  Lodge, 
who  informs  me  that  3|  inches  of  rain  fell  between  five 
o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the  3d  and  five  o'clock  of  the 
morning  of  the  4th  of  August :  that  is  to  say,  that  taking 
the  average  of  the  years  from  1821  to  1828,  inclusive,  about 
one  sixth  part  of  our  annual  allowance  of  rain  fell  within 
these  twenty-four  hours ;  and  if  such  was  the  fall  at  so 
great  a  distance  from  the  mountains,  the  deluge  that  de- 
scended on  them  must  have  been  so  enormous  as  to  lead  us 
rather  to  wonder  that  a  flood,  even  yet  more  tremendous  in 
its  magnitude  and  consequences,  did  not  result  from  it. 

Page  178.  The  river  Spey  holds  the  third  place  among 
Scottish  rivers.  It  rises  about  sixteen  miles  south  from 
Fort  Augustus,  has  a  run  of  about  ninety-six  miles,  and 
drains  not  less  than  1300  square  miles  of  country. 

The  Spey  and  its  tributaries  above  Kingussie  were  but 
little  affected  by  the  flood  of  the  3d  and  4th  of  August. 

Page  43.  The  spouts  of  rain  on  the  3d  and  4th  con- 
verted every  dry  scar  on  the  mountain  faces  into  a  torrent, 
which  soon  cut  it  into  a  ravine  and  covered  an  acre  or  two 
of  the  slope  below  with  huge  stones  and  heaps  of  gravel,  to 
the  depth  of  many  feet.  In  two  places,  where  the  hill  side 
was  formerly  quite  entire,  it  was  torn  open,  and  fragments 
of  detached  rock,  eight  or  ten  tons  in  weight,  were  thus  dis- 
lodged and  thrown  down.  The  rock  and  hills  were  every 
where  sheeted  with  cataracts,  whilst  these  huge  masses 
were  tumbling  headlong  from  their  beds  with  a  thunder 
even  louder  than  that  of  the  river. 


420  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Page  64.  The  green  slopes  of  the  hills  were  converted 
into  naked  precipices. 

At  Gordon  Castle,  mouth  of  the  Spey,  north  of  the  storm, 
min.  barom.  29.20. 

Page  178.  The  western  boundary  of  the  fall  of  rain 
seems  to  have  been  about  the  line  of  the  river  Calder,  (a 
little  south  east  from  Loch  Ness,)  which  enters  the  Spey 
from  the  left  bank.  The  deluge  was  tremendous,  accom- 
panied by  a  violent  north  east  wind  arid  frequent  flashes 
of  lightning  without  thunder.  The  barometer  sank  very 
little,  but  this  was  attributed  to  the  direction  of  the  wind. 

Page  38.  A  little  north  east  from  the  river  Calder,  high 
up  on  the  Findhorn,  the  landlord  of  the  inn  told  me  that 
there  were  showers  on  Sunday,  the  2d,  and  during  the 
night ;  but  that  the  serious  rain  did  not  come  on  till  Mon- 
day morning,  about  eight  o'clock,  when  the  water  fell  from 
the  heavens  more  tremendously  than  he  had  ever  seen  it 
fall  before.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  was  accompanied  by  a 
violent  north  east  wind,  and  it  continued  till  about  four 
o'clock  on  Tuesday  evening. 

Page  239.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  1st,  Mr.  Skinner,  who 
lives  at  Drummin,  immediately  above  the  junction  of  the 
Livat  with  the  Spey,  (near  the  centre  of  the  storm,)  ob- 
served an  unusually  dark  cloud  on  the  top  of  Cromdale  hill. 
It  was  so  remarkable  in  its  appearance  that  it  excited  uni- 
versal notice.  The  barometer  stood  with  him  on  that  day 
at  30,  but  fell  gradually  till  the  3d,  when  it  stood  at  28.2. 

Page  354.  (Near  the  head  of  the  Dee — southern  part  of 
the  storm).  The  rain  on  the  northern  mountains  was  infinite- 
ly more  tremendous  than  that  which  fell  in  the  valley ;  and 
whilst  the  tributaries  from  that  quarter  were  swollen  to  an 
unparalleled  height,  those  from  the  south,  in  the  Brsemar 
district,  were  not  more  raised  than  they  are  every  year  by 
spring  and  autumn  floods.  Instances  of  outbursts  of  sub- 
terranean water  were  frequent  in  the  northern  mountains. 
The  red  granite  hill  of  the  Muckle  Glashault,  nine  miles  to 


METEORIC   RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  421 

the  north  west  of  Invercauld,  is  about  3000  feet  high  and 

of  steep  ascent  on  all  sides On  the  north  side,  and 

about  one  third  of  the  way  from  the  summit,  no  less  than 
fifteen  or  sixteen  of  these  openings  have  been  made,  vary- 
ing in  breadth  from  thirty  to  forty  yards.  Each  of  these 
appears  to  have  had  an  immense  column  of  water  issuing 
from  it,  which  has  cut  a  track  for  itself  to  the  very  base  of 
the  mountain. 

Dr.  Robertson,  of  Crathic,  concludes,  from  the  appear- 
ances, that  the  water  burst  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  in 
repeated  jets,  rather  than  in  one  continued  stream.  None 
of  those  appearances  existed  before  the  3d  and  4th  of  Au- 
gust. They  are  by  no  means  confined  to  Muckle  Glashault, 
being  observed,  of  greater  or  less  magnitude,  by  Dr.  Robert- 
son, in  all  the  hills  he  had  an  opportunity  of  examining. 

Page  352.  At  this  place  it  rained  a  little  on  the  evening 
of  the  2d,  and  throughout  the  morning  of  the  3d  there  were 
heavy  intermittent  showers,  with  strong  gusts  of  wind  from 
the  north  west ;  and  the  barometer  never  fell  below  29|. 

Page  307.  The  schooner  Pursuit,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Spey,  was  driven  from  her  chain  out  to  the  bar,  by  the  fury 
of  the  water,  and  her  salvation  was  effected  by  her  being 
kept  dreadfully  balanced  between  it  and  the  opposing  force 
of  the  violent  north  east  wind. 

200.  In  examining  the  phenomena  here  recorded,  it  is 
worthy  of  particular  notice ;  1st.  That  all  these  meteoric 
rivers  fell  on  the  sides  of  hills  or  mountains. 

2d.  That  the  magnitude  of  these  rivers  seems  to  be  in 
general  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  mountains,  or  at 
least  to  the  height  of  the  points  where  they  first  touched 
the  earth. 

3d.  Wherever  the  direction  of  the  wind  is  mentioned,  it 
is  towards  the  storm.  It  blew  towards  Hollidaysburg,  both 
on  the  east  and  west;  two  currents  of  air  met  in  the  Hud- 
son, at  Catskill ;  a  very  strong  north  east  wind  blew  to- 


422  PHILOSOPHY  OF   STORMS. 

wards  the  Moray  hills,  on  the  north  east  side  of  the  Moray 
floods ;  and  at  Greenock,  north  west,  and  at  Liverpool 
south  west,  and  at  Leith  west,  in  the  same  storm ;  and  in 
Teneriffe  the  wind,  which  had  been  south  west,  changed 
round  suddenly  at  the  beginning  of  the  storm,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  island,  and  blew  a  gale  from  the  east,  and  on 
the  north  it  changed  round  suddenly,  and  blew  a  gale  from 
the  north ;  whilst  in  the  interior  part  of  the  island,  at  La- 
guna,  the  wind  continued  yet  for  many  hours  longer  from 
the  south  west. 

4th.  The  clouds  were  seen  to  meet  from  three  directions ; 
at  Hollidaysburg,  in  three  directions ;  at  Catskill,  in  two  di- 
rections ;  in  New  Hampshire,  "  at  the  close  of  a  rainy  day, 
the  clouds  seemed  all  to  come  together  over  the  White 
Mountains,  and  at  midnight  to  discharge  their  clouds  at 
once  in  a  terrible  burst  of  rain." 

At  Teneriffe,  tl  the  clouds  came  rapidly  together  from 
every  part  of  the  horizon." 

5th.  The  clouds  either  touched  the  ground,  or  covered  the 
mountains. 

6th.  The  barometer  fell,  near  the  centre  of  the  Moray 
storm,  1.8  inches,  whilst  both  on  the  north  east  arid  north 
west,  and  south  west  side,  it  fell  very  little ;  and  in  Tene- 
riffe. in  the  interior  of  the  island,  the  barometer  sank  from 
28.532  to  27.870,  in  a  few  hours ;  when,  at  the  same  time,  the 
wind  on  the  east  was  blowing  a  most  violent  gale  from  the 
east ;  and  on  the  north  a  most  violent  gale  from  the  north. 

7th.  All  these  storms  took  place  at  a  time  of  year  when 
the  dew  point  may  be  high ;  for  even  in  November  the  dew 
point  may  be  high  in  Teneriffe. 

8th.  These  storms  appear  to  have  been  stationary  over  a 
very  limited  extent  of  territory,  and  to  have  continued 
longer  in  proportion  as  they  were  larger. 

When  such  astonishing  phenomena  as  these  are  presented 
to  our  minds  for  the  first  time,  and  satisfactorily  proved  to 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  423 

be  true,  it  is  natural  and  proper  for  us  to  inquire  how  these 
.things  can  be. 

By  what  power,  hitherto  unknown,  is  this  mighty  mass 
of  water  suspended  until  it  accumulates  so  as  to  become 
"  a  river  from  the  clouds  "  ? 

The  answer  to  this  sublime  question  may  be  stated  in  a 
few  words. 

The  wind,  which  blew  inwards,  as  it  did  with  great  vio- 
lence, on  coming  to  the  side  of  a  mountain 'or  hill,  must 
necessarily  ascend ;  in  ascending  it  would  carry  up  drops 
of  rain  to  a  height  proportionate  to  its  velocity  ;  when  these 
drops  became  so  numerous  and  heavy  that  they  could  no 
longer  be  forced  upwards,  which  they  would  soon  do,  by 
the  constant  accession  which  would  be  made  to  them  by 
the  condensing  vapor  in  its  ascent,  whether  the  sheet  of 
water  thus  formed  in  the  air  were  thick  or  thin,  on  begin- 
ning to  descend,  it  would  naturally  break  up  into  parts, 
and  in  descending  each  part  would  naturally  form  itself 
into  the  shape  of  an  inverted  cone,  or  rather  trumpet,  with 
the  little  end  downwards.  The  latent  caloric  evolved  by 
the  condensing  vapor,  it  is  now  known,  is  sufficient  to  ex- 
pand the  air  in  the  region  of  the  cloud  between  six  and 
seven  thousand  cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot  of  water  that 
is  generated  by  the  condensing  vapor,  after  making  due  al- 
lowance for  that  condensation,  and  thus  furnishes  an  ade- 
quate upmoving  power. 

It  would  be  vain  to  speculate  on  the  height  to  which 
these  masses  of  water  are  carried  up.  Perhaps  the  distance 
at  which  the  meteoric  rivers  fall  apart,  and  other  phe- 
nomena attending  their  fall,  may  yet  furnish  data  sufficient 
to  bring  the  calculation  within  the  power  of  mathematics. 

It  would  appear  from  the  following  fact,  that  a  river  of 
hail  sometimes  falls  from  the  clouds;  and  of  course  it  must 
fall  from  a  great  height,  even  above  the  region  of  perpetual 
congelation. 


424  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

•  "On  Tuesday,  May  4th,  1697,  (at  Hitchin,  in  Hartford- 
shire,)  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  it  began  to  lighten 
and  thunder  extremely,  some  great  showers  intervening;  it 
continued  till  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  on 
a  sudden  a  black  cloud  arose  south  west  of  us,  the  wind 
being  east,  and  blew  hard ;  then  fell  a  sharp  shower,  with 
some  hailstones.  I  measured  some  of  them,  seven  or  eight 
inches  about;  but  the  extremity  of  the  storm  fell  about 
Offley,  where  a  young  man  was  killed,  one  of  his  eyes 
struck  out  of  his  head,  and  his  body  all  over  black  with 
bruises.  The  tempest  was  such  when  it  fell,  that  in  four 
poles  of  land,  from  the  hills  near  us,  it  carried  away  all  the 
staple  of  the  land,  leaving  nothing  but  chalk ;  the  flood 
came  down,  spreading  over  four  or  five  acres  of  land,  rolling 
like  the  bay  of  Biscay ;  and,  which  is  very  strange,  all  this 
within  the  compass  of  one  English  mile.  I  was  walking 
in.  my  garden,  which  is  very  small,  perhaps  about  thirty 
yards  square,  and  before  I  could  get  out  it  took  me  to  my 
knees,  and  was  through  my  house  before  I  could  get  in, 
which  I  can  modestly  speak  was  in  the  space  of  a  minute, 
and  went  through  all  like  a  sea,  carrying  all  wooden  things 
like  boats  on  the  water.  The  greatest  part  of  the  town  being 
under  this  misfortune ;  the  surprise  was  so  great,  that  we 
had  scarce  time  enough  to  save  our  wives  and  children. 
There  fell  some  thousand  cartloads ;  I  saw  them  four  days 
after,  and  if  the  beds  of  hail  had  not  been  broke  by  peo- 
ple's coming,  and  trampling  of  horses,  it  might  have  lain  till 
Michaelmas.  They  have  been  measured  from  one  to  thir- 
teen or  fourteen  inches,  certain  ;  some  people  talk  largely  of 
it,  seventeen  and  eighteen  inches;  but  the  other  is  certain 
truth.  The  figures  of  them  are  various,  some  oval,  others 
round,  others  picked,  and  some  flat." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  force  which  held  up  these 
hail  stones  until  they  became  so  numerous  as  to  form  "  a 
river  of  hail  from  the  clouds,"  which  "  rolled  like  the  bay  of 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  425 

Biscay,"  on  reaching  the  earth,  was  the  same  in  kind  as 
that  which  formed  the  rivers  of  water  from  the  clouds.  In- 
deed, if  any  violent  hail  storm  were  to  stop  its  motion  along 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  for  even  fifteen  minutes,  as  this 
storm  probably  did  on  reaching  the  hill  on  whose  side  it 
fell,  it  would  throw  down  just  such  a  mass  of  hail  as  fell 
at  Offley. 

It  would  appear,  indeed,  impossible  that  many  thousand 
times  as  much  water  should  be  collected  into  one  column  in 
a  few  minutes,  in  the  air,  as  a  column  of  the  atmosphere  of 
the  same  diameter  contains  in  vapor,  even  if  it  all  could  be 
condensed. 

But  this  difficulty  will  vanish  when  we  consider  that  if 
the  barometer  should  only  fall  one  inch  and  a  half  in  the 
middle  of  one  of  these  land  spouts,  the  air  would  spout  up 
in  it  with  the  velocity  of  six  thousand  yards  per  minute; 
and  it  is  known  by  experiment,  if  the  dew  point  in  this  case 
should  be  about  71°,  which  is  common  in  the  summer,  that 
a  sufficient  cold  would  be  produced  by  the  expansion  of  the 
air  in  rising  to  this  height,  even  after  making  allowance  for 
the  latent  caloric  given  out  by  the  condensing  vapor,  to 
condense  one  half  the  vapor  contained  in  the  air.  There- 
fore, with  the  assumed  velocity  of  the  upmoving  column  of 
air,  1\  times  as  much  vapor  would  be  condensed  in  fifteen 
minutes  as  one  of  these  columns  contains;  or  about  enough 
to  cover  a  space  equal  to  the  base  of  the  upmoving  column, 
forty-one  inches  deep.  Now  if  this  ascending  spout  of  air 
should  not  be  perpendicular,  it  would  throw  the  drops  of 
rain  or  hail  which  might  be  formed  by  the  condensing  vapor 
in  its  upward  motion,  all  out  on  one  side,  and  these  drops, 
in  descending,  would  evidently  tend  inwards  towards  the 
centre  of  the  falling  mass,  because  there  the  drops  would 
meet  with  less  resistance  to  their  descent  by  following 
others  which  had  preceded  them. 

Thus  a  column  of  descending  water  or  hail  might  be 

54 


426  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

formed  many  thousand  times  less  in  diameter  than  that  of 
the  ascending  spout  of  air. 

This  column  of  hail,  falling  from  so  great  a  height,  (for 
it  must  have  been  carried  up  beyond  the  region  of  perpetual 
congelation,)  might  well  "carry  off  all  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  leave  nothing  but  the  naked  chalk,  covering 
four  or  five  acres  of  land  below,  and  rolling  like  the  bay  of 
Biscay."  It  may  easily  be  calculated,  however,  that  the 
descending  column,  on  reaching  the  earth,  could  not,  if  it 
was  solid,  have  had  a  diameter  of  two  poles,  and  therefore 
its  lower  end  must  have  wavered  about  as  the  columns  did 
in  the  Hollidaysburg  storm,  so  as  to  cut  out  a  space  very 
much  larger  than  itself. 

This  was  probably  the  case  also  in  that  basin  which 
Mr.  Alison  describes  in  the  TenerifTe  storm,  as  being  six 
hundred  yards  in  circumference,  and  thirty  feet  deep,  with 
furrows  cut  in  concentric  circles. 

The  stationary  character  of  all  these  storms  is  not  a  little 
remarkable,  especially  as  it  is  now  known  that  tornadoes 
in  this  country  always  travel  towards  the  east,  or  in  some 
eastern  direction.  This  anomaly  may  be  explained  in  the 
following  manner. 


Let  a  b  and  a  c  be  two  mountains,  of  moderate  height, 
butting  up  against  each  other  in  the  south  west,  and  let  the 
circle  d  e  /'represent  the  area  of  a  storm  moving  along  the 
line  k  i,  from  south  west  to  north  east.  When  the  centre 
of  the  storm  reaches  the  mountains  the  barometer  will  stand 


METEORIC  RIVERS  OR  WATERFALLS.  427 

lowest  at  the  mountains,  and  be  above  the  mean  at  some 
distance  from  the  borders  of  the  storm,  in  consequence  of 
the  rapid  outspreading  of  the  air  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
cloud  in  the  region  of  the  storm,  and  this  effect  will  be  felt, 
especially  in  the  north  east  of  the  storm,  because  the  upper 
region  of  the  atmosphere  in  this  part  of  the  country  moves 
generally  to  the  north  east.  Let  h  g  represent  the  line,  or 
part  of  the  annulus,  where  the  barometer  stands  highest  to 
the  north  east  of  the  storm,  then  will  the  wind  blow  both 
ways  from  that  line,  and  as  it  approaches  the  centre  of  the 
storm  at  a,  it  will  increase  very  much  in  violence  because 
the  barometer  is  low  there. 

When  this  wind  reaches  the  mountain  it  will  be  obliged 
to  rise  even  before  the  centre  of  the  storm  has  reached 
there,  and  in  rising  will  form  cloud.  Now  this  formation 
of  cloud  will  soon  bring  the  centre  of  the  storm  to  the  east 
side  of  the  mountains,  for  the  cloud  which  rises  on  the 
west  side  will  be  pressed  over  towards  the  north  east  by 
the  upper  current  in  the  atmosphere.  Thus  will  the  centre 
of  the  cloud  be  held  constantly  over  the  region  just  east  of 
the  mountain.1 

We  are  now  prepared  to  answer  a  question  which  natu- 
rally arises  here.  Why  does  the  rain  cease?  By  casting 
the  eye  on  the  figure,  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  air  blows  in 
opposite  directions  from  the  annulus  h  g,  and  of  course  the 
atmosphere  sinks  down  there.  Now  as  soon  as  the  dry 
atmosphere  of  the  upper  regions  reaches  the  earth  the  sup- 
ply of  vapor  is  cut  off  from  the  storm,  and  the  storm  ceases. 
This  is  one  way  in  which  the  rain  might  cease,  as  it  does 

1  If  the  mountain  against  which  the  wind  blows  is  immoderately  high,  as 
the  Andes  or  the  Himalaya,  it  is  manifest  that  the  rain  will  fall  on  the 
windward  side ;  but  it  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  assign  the  reason  why 
the  wind  blows  for  four  or  five  months  in  the  summer  against  the  south  west 
side  of  the  Himalaya  mountains. 


428  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

round  a  volcano.  Or  perhaps  it  might  cease  by  the  widen- 
ing out  of  cloud  above  in  the  form  of  a  mushroom,  and  thus 
form  a  general  rain,  which  of  course  will  come  under  the 
general  laws  which  govern  storms  in  their  motions  along 
the  surface  of  the  earth. 


SECTION   NINTH. 


OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    THEORY,  WITH   ANSWERS. 

Professor  Olmstcd's  Objections,  with  Replies. 

201.  IN  a  public  lecture,  delivered  by  Professor  Ohnsted 
in  Clinton  Hall,  New  York,  various  objections  were  urged 
against  my  theory,  which  I  propose  to  answer,  as  briefly  as 
the  nature  of  the  subject  will  admit. 

After  making  some  preliminary  remarks,  which  were  not 
connected  with  the  correctness  or  incorrectness  of  my  the- 
ory, the  Professor  proceeded  to  state,  without  controverting 
some  of  the  principal  chemical  laws  on  which  my  theory  is 
founded,  for  example,  that  about  1000°  of  latent  caloric 
are  given  out  when  vapor  is  condensed  into  water,  whether 
it  is  condensed  in  water  or  air;  that  if  air  is  expanded  by 
diminished  pressure,  it  became  colder,  and  that  to  a  great  de- 
gree, as  he  proved  by  the  Chemnitz  experiment,  where  air 
is  let  out  after  being  under  great  pressure,  when  it  produces 
a  cold  sufficient  to  freeze  drops  of  water  which  were  in  it, 
and  of  course  to  condense  much  of  its  vapor  into  water. 
These  principles,  then,  are  acknowledged,  and  the  quanti- 
ties, as  I  state  them,  not  denied.  It  is  contended,  however, 
that  "my  deductions  are  neither  conformable  to  the  laws  of 
heat  nor  to  the  phenomena  of  nature." 

The  Professor  says  that  "  the  latent  caloric,  when  evolved 
during  the  formation  of  a  cloud  by  the  condensation  of  the 
vapor,  either  stays  where  it  is,  or  passes  away  into  space 


430  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

by  radiation.  If  it  stays  where  it  is,  it  would  prevent  the 
condensation  of  vapor  altogether;  and  if  it  is  radiated  off 
into  space  as  fast  as  it  is  evolved,  it  is  not  there  to  do  the 
work  assigned  to  it  by  me.  In  fact,  that  my  proposition  is 
absurd  and  impossible ;  that  I  speak  of  a  great  cold  to  con- 
dense the  vapor,  and  a  great  heat  to  expand  the  air  in  the 
cloud  so  much  as  to  make  it  greatly  lighter  than  air  sur- 
rounding the  cloud  at  the  same  height."  To  avoid  this  di- 
lemma, the  Professor  says  "  the  caloric  evolved  during  the 
formation  of  cloud  is  actually  radiated  off  into  space ;  at 
least,  so  much  of  it  as  to  prevent  the  cloud  from  being 
warmer  than  the  surrounding  air  at  the  same  elevation. " 

The  answer  to  this  objection  is  very  easy.  First,  it  is 
known  from  the  dew  point,  that  if  air  is  cooled  down  by 
expansion  from  diminished  pressure  30°  below  the  point  of 
condensation,  a  large  portion  of  its  vapor  will  be  condensed 
into  cloud.  Now,  if  air  goes  up  in  a  column  six  thousand 
yards  high,  it  will  expand,  by  diminished  pressure,  suffi- 
cient to  produce  30°  of  cold,  even  if  it  should  receive  latent 
caloric  enough  to  heat  it  30°,  for  without  this  latent  caloric, 
it  would  be  more  than  sixty  degrees  colder  on  reaching  that 
height;  so  it  is  not  necessary  to  the  formation  of  cloud  of 
great  density  that  any  of  the  'caloric  evolved  should  escape 
into  space  by  radiation  during  its  formation. 

This  will  not  be  denied  by  any  one  who  understands  my 
theory  well  enough  to  repeat  the  numbers  just  mentioned. 
He  will  perceive  that  the  air,  in  going  up  six  thousand 
yards,  has  been  subjected  to  a  cooling  process,  which  would 
have  reduced  its  temperature  more  than  60°,  if  no  latent  ca- 
loric had  been  given  out ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  latent  ca- 
loric evolved,  it  will  be  cooled  only  about  half  that  quantity, 
and  of  course  will  then  be  about  30°  warmer  than  the  air 
surrounding  the  cloud  at  the  same  height;  consequently 
it  will  be  about  ^  lighter. 

Besides,  what  right  has  the  Professor  to  take  it  for  granted 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  431 

that  all  this  great  quantity  of  caloric  is  radiated  off  into 
space  as  it  is  evolved,  in  the  formation  of  cloud?  It  is  a 
mere  hypothesis,  without  any  experiments  to  support  it. 
Nay,  it  is  contrary  to  experiment;  for  if  steam  is  let  out  of 
a  steam  boiler  into  the  air,  when  it  makes  cloud,  we  know 
it  gives  out  no  more  caloric  to  the  air  than  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  vapor  in  the  atmosphere  gives  out  when  it  forms 
cloud;  for  the  sensible  and  latent  caloric  of  steam,  when 
added  together,  is  a  constant  quantity,  equal  to  1242°  Fahr., 
as  appears  by  the  beautiful  experiments  of  Professor  W.  R. 
Johnson,  of  Philadelphia.  At  least,  he  has  proved  that  the 
latent  caloric  of  steam,  at  the  temperature  of  212°,  is  about 
1030° ;  and  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  latent  caloric  of 
steam  diminishes  as  the  sensible  increases. 

But  all  this  doctrine  aside,  it  is  proved  by  experiments  with 
the  nephelescope,  that  only  about  one  half  as  many  degrees 
of  cold  are  produced  by  a  given  expansion  when  cloud  is 
formed,  as  when  air  so  dry  is  used  that  no  cloud  is  formed. 
This  experiment  was  not  even  mentioned  by  the  Professor, 
though  it  was  brought  forward  prominently  by  me  as  proof 
positive  and  undeniable,  of  the  entire  truth  of  my  theory, 
and  that,  too,  independent  of  all  knowledge  of  the  phys- 
ical laws  of  latent  caloric,  and  the  specific  caloric  of  air. 

Before  my  theory  is  proved  false,  that  experiment  must 
be  refuted.  But  the  Professor  exultingly  said,  that  "the 
experiment  which  I  adduced  to  prove  that  cloud  is  warmer 
than  surrounding  air,  proved  his  doctrine  of  radiation, — 
namely,  the  etheriscope  of  Leslie  ;  when  that  instrument 
was  turned  towards  a  cloud  the  thermometer  rose,  and 
when  turned  away  from  the  cloud,  towards  the  clear  sky, 
the  thermometer  fell." 

I  will  not  argue  this  point;  the  whole  scientific  world 
will  agree  with  me  that  the  thermometer  rose  in  conse- 
quence of  the  superior  heat  of  the  cloud.  It  is  true  the  ex- 
periment proved  that  the  cloud  radiated ;  but  it  proved  like- 


432  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

wise  that  it  did  not  radiate  all  its  caloric  of  elasticity  as 
fast  as  it  was  evolved,  or  it  would  not  have  so  much  left, 
to  radiate  for  hours  after  the  cloud  was  formed. 

Besides,  there  was  no  answer  attempted  to  be  given  to 
the  observations  of  Sausseur,  that  when  he  was  enveloped 
in  a  cloud  rising  up  to  him  on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  his 
thermometer  rose  higher  than  it  was  in  the  open  sun. 

Nor  was  there  any  mention  made  of  Mr.  Durant's  and 
Gay-Lussac's  observation,  of  a  similar  nature,  as  they 
passed  through  a  cloud  in  a  balloon.  But  what  shall  I  say 
of  the  Professor's  altogether  neglecting  to  mention  the 
proof  which  I  brought  forward,  by  an  experiment  with  the 
nephelescope,  that  the  air  is  not  only  warmer  when  a  cloud 
is  formed  by  the  cold  of  expansion  from  diminished  pressure, 
than  it  would  be  with  the  same  expansion  when  no  cloud 
is  formed,  but  also  showing  the  exact  number  of  degrees  it  is 
warmer.  This  experiment  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  the 
theory,  and,  as  it  was  not  denied,  it  was  tacitly  admitted. 
If  so,  the  foundations  of  the  theory  have  not  been  shaken. 

There  is  one  part  of  the  professor's  strictures  I  would 
willingly  pass  by  unnoticed,  if  justice  to  my  subject  did 
not  demand  a  reply.  The  Professor  said  that  my  ex- 
periments proved  nothing  as  to  the  formation  of  clouds  in 
nature,  for  in  my  experiments,  the  air  was  first  condensed 
and  then  rarefied,  and  though  a  cloud  is  formed  in  the  ne- 
phelescope, yet  it  would  not  be  formed  so.  by  nature,  for  she 
never  condenses  first.  Now,  one  of  two  things  is  certain 
from  this  declaration ;  either  the  Professor  was  ignorant  of 
the  common  experiment  with  the  air  pump,  in  which  a 
dense  cloud  is  formed  in  a  receiver  by  suddenly  exhaust- 
ing a  portion  the  air  from  it,  and  that,  too,  without  any 
previous  condensation  ;  or  he  wilfully  avoided  the  main 
question,  knowing  the  statement  which  he  made  was  a 
mere  evasion.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  which  was  the 
fact. 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  433 

I  am  willing  to  suppose  the  Professor  misunderstood  me 
when  he  staled  that  I  drew  the  deduction,  that  because  cloud 
was  formed  in  the  nephelescope  when  the  air  expanded, 
therefore  all  clouds  in  nature  were  so  formed.  This,  I  never 
stated,  either  in  writing  or  in  my  lectures,  as  a  deduction 
from  this  experiment  alone.  The  deduction  which  I  drew 
was  that,  if  it  could  be  demonstrated  that  currents  of  air  rose 
up  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  to  a  certain  height,  depending 
on  the  dew  point,  and  temperature  of  the  air  at  the  time, 
cloud  would  be  formed,  and  that  too  on  the  very  principle 
on  which  they  were  formed  in  the  nephelescope,  by  the  cold 
of  expansion  from  diminished  pressure ;  whether  all  clouds 
are  so  formed  or  not,  depends  on  other  proof.  It  did  not  ap- 
pear to  me  very  clear,  whether  the  Professor  acknowledged 
there  would  be  any  cold  produced  in  the  air  from  diminished 
pressure,  even  if  a  current  of  air  should  ascend,  unless  it 
had  been  previously  condensed  as  in  the  nephelescope  and 
at  the  Chemnitz  fountain;  for  he  said  a  man  would  feel 
cold  if  taken  up  to  a  great  height  without  expanding  from 
diminished  pressure.  This  argument  does  not  seem  to  me 
to  require  an  answer. 

Professor  Olmsted  did  not  do  me  justice  when  he  said 
that  I  had  stated  in  my  lecture  as  an  argument  in  favor  of 
the  truth  of  my  theory,  that  scientific  men  were  generally 
against  me.  I  did  not  mean  to  be  so  understood. 

The  Professor  had  stated  in  a  previous  lecture,  that  "  as 
I  had  failed  to  convince  scientific  men  of  the  truth  of  my 
theory,  I  had  appealed  to  the  people,"  who,  he  insinuated, 
were  incompetent  to  decide  the  question.  In  my  lecture,  I 
thought  it  but  right  to  acknowledge  that  a  large  portion  of 
the  scientific  world  were  against  me,  and  mentioned  Sir 
John  Herschel  as  among  the  first  men  of  the  age;  but  I 
denied,  that  that  settled  the  question;  and  I  immediately 
attempted  to  shew,  by  reasoning  so  plain  that  the  people 
could  understand  it,  that  the  argument  which  Sir  John 
55 


434  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

brought  forward  as  conclusive  against  my  theory,  was  one 
of  irresistible  power  in  its  favor.  And  1  think  we  may 
safely  conclude,  it  was  satisfactory  to  Professor  Olmsted  him- 
self, as  it  was  not  attempted  to  be  impugned  ;  though  it  was 
one  which  I  dared  my  opponents  to  attempt  to  invalidate. 

It  is  true  the  Professor  said,  "my  chimney  would  not  draw 
because  the  bricks  were  all  out ;"  that  is,  even  if  the  cloud  is 
as  much  lighter  than  the  surrounding  air,  as  I  say  it  is, 
still  the  air  would  not  run  in  below  and  upwards  in  the 
middle  and  outwards  above.  This  being  contrary  to  the 
known  laws  of  dynamics,  and  to  the  doctrine  taught  in  all 
the  books,  that  air  which  is  rarefied  by  heat  will  ascend  and 
other  air  rush  in  to  take  its  place,  or  rather  press  it  up  by 
its  superior  gravity,  I  suppose  it  was  intended  for  wit  and 
not  for  argument,  and  as  such  needs  no  answer  from  me.  I 
will  only  say  the  Professor's  figure  of  a  narrow  streamlet  or 
cylinder  of  air,  confined  to  a  very  narrow  space  under  the 
centre  of  the  cloud,  did  not  convey  a  correct  idea  of  the 
doctrine  which  I  teach,  namely,  that  the  air  flows  in  on  all 
sides,  sloping  upwards  from  beyond  the  borders  of  the 
cloud,  not  only  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  up  to  the 
base  of  the  cloud  itself,  and  sometimes  a  little  above,  when 
the  cloud  becomes  of  great  perpendicular  altitude,  from  its 
summit  to  its  base,  as  is  then  manifested  by  the  lower  parts  of 
the  cloud  gathering  in  on  all  sides  towards  the  centre.  (175.) 

But  if  the  Professor  had  made  his  figure  to  represent  this 
view  of  the  subject,  the  wit  would  have  disappeared. 

"  All  new  theories,"  says  the  Professor,  "  from  Symmes's 
down,  explain  some  phenomena ;  and  this  imposes  on  per- 
sons not  scientific.  My  theory,  he  says,  does  not  explain 
all,  and  therefore  is  not  the  true  one.  For  example — tor- 
nadoes sometimes  commence  in  the  night,  when  the  air  is 
cooled  by  contact  with  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  there- 
fore can  have  no  tendency  to  ascend  in  columns,  but  rather 
to  lie  still  from  its  superior  iveighL  And  even  in  the  day, 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  435 

there  can  be  no  particular  patches,  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  especially  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  so  much 
heated  above  surrounding  regions,  as  to  give  rise  to  these 
upmoving  columns  of  such  tremendous  power." 

These  objections  have  some  plausibility,  but  it  is  a  plau- 
sibility arising  entirely  from  a  misconception  of  the  doctrine 
which  I  teach.  In  the  first  place,  it  does  not  follow,  that 
because  tornadoes  sometimes  occur  in  the  night,  the  clouds 
themselves  which  formed  these  tornadoes,  commenced  form- 
ing in  the  night.  These  clouds  might  have  formed  many 
hours  before  they  assumed  the  tornado  character,  and  at  a 
great  distance  from  where  they  were  first  observed.  And 
indeed  if  my  doctrine  is  true,  it  must  have  been  so  ;  for  it 
requires  considerable  time  to  form  a  cloud  of  such  great 
perpendicular  height  as  to  make  a  tornado  cloud,  and  dur- 
ing all  this  time,  the  cloud  has  a  motion  of  translation. 

It  is  manifest  that  when  cloud  is  once  formed,  and  comes 
over  a  region  where  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  is 
colder  than  that  just  above  it,  as  it  will  be  in  the  night,  still 
from  the  great  levity  of  the  cloud,  when  compared  with  the 
air  around  the  cloud,  the  whole  column  of  air,  even  down 
to  the  surface  of  the  earth  will  be  forced  upwards,  by  the 
superior  weight  of  the  surrounding  air ;  and  if  there  is  but 
little  difference  between  the  temperature  of  the  air  and  the 
dew  point,  when  the  cloud  comes  over  a  place,  as  it  passes 
along  over  the  surface  of  the  earth  even  in  the  night,  the 
air  under  it,  being  relieved  from  some  of  the  pressure  which 
was  on  it  before  the  arrival  of  the  cloud,  will  expand,  and 
by  the  cold  of  expansion,  condense  a  portion  of  its  vapor  into 
cloud,  and  thus  the  cloud  will  reach  the  earth. 

Moreover  there  is  a  tendency  in  one  tornado  to  form  an- 
other, and  the  second  has  a  tendency  to  form  a  third,  and 
so  on  till  there  is  a  forest  of  them  all  in  operation  at  the 
same  time  ;  and  the  annulus  of  each  tornado  will  keep  them 
apart  for  a  short  time.  For  as  the  barometer  stands  above 


436  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  mean  all  round  the  tornado  or  water  spont,  in  an  annu- 
lus,  in  consequence  of  the  rapid  efflux  of  the  air  above  in 
all  directions  from  the  centre  of  the  cloud,  the  air  at  some 
short  distance  beyond  the  annulus  will  move  gently  out- 
wards, at  the  surface  of  the  earth  from  the  tornado.  This 
outward  motion  will  have  a  tendency  to  form  anew  upmov- 
ing  column  on  the  windward  side  of  the  tornado,  by  its 
causing  a  resistance  to  the  regular  current  of  the  air,  and 
even  on  the  leeward,  it  has  the  same  tendency,  by  protrud- 
ing the  air  faster  in  that  direction  than  the  common  cur- 
rent of  air  is  moving  on  that  day.  This  will  appear  to  any 
one  who  shall  think  on  the  subject  carefully  without  any 
further  elucidation  from  me.  On  the  other  hand,  the  more 
anyone  thinks  of  tops  spinning  round  in  the  air,  as  the  Pro- 
fessor said  he  conceived  these  spouts  do,  the  less  analogy 
will  he  see  between  them  and  this  forest  of.  water  spouts, 
as  the  Professor  called  them,  for  the  tops  would  immediate- 
ly fly  all  to  pieces,  and  cease  whirling,  if  the  cohesion  of 
their  particles  should  be  destroyed,  and  so  it  would  be  with 
the  air,  even  if  it  should  bo  put  into  a  whirling  motion  by 
some  unknown  cause,  as  its  particles  have  no  cohesion. 

If,  indeed,  it  should  commence  whirling  without  a  cause 
—  and  no  cause  has  ever  been  adduced  for  it  —  it  might,  for 
aught  1  know,  continue  to  whirl  without  a  cause. 

My  theory  does  not  necessarily  imply,  that  there  are  "  par- 
ticular patches  "  either  on  land  or  sea,  warmer  than  else- 
where, which  are  necessary  to  the  origin  of  upmoving  col- 
umns— on  the  contrary,  if  the  air  at  the  surface  of  the 
earth  or  sea  for  thousands  of  miles  around,  should  become 
heated,  more  than  the  air  just  above,  or  should  become  more 
highly  charged  with  vapor,  it  would  in  either  case  form  an 
unstable  equilibrium,  and  it  would  be  as  philosophical  to 
suppose  that  a  needle  nicely  balanced  on  its  point,  would 
remain  so  forever  in  an  agitated  atmosphere,  without  falling, 
as  to  suppose  upmoving  columns  of  air  would  riot  be  formed 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  437 

in  this  case.  If  a  wave  in  the  ocean,  for  in st?  nee,  should 
be  an  inch  high,  it  would  destroy  the  equilibrium,  and  a 
current  of  heated  air  would  start  upwards  from  its  summit 
and  other  heated  air,  or  air  highly  charged  with  vapor 
would  rush  in  towards  the  base  of  the  ascending  column, 
and  the  action  would  be  continued  and  increased. 

The  Professor  gives  one  more  example  where  he  says  my 
theory  fails  to  explain  the  phenomenon;  that  is,  "  why  it 
does  not  rain  in  Egypt."  And  in  this  instance  he  says,  "  I 
adduce  one  hypothesis  to  explain  another,  contrary  to  the 
admitted  laws  of  inductive  philosophy." 

To  this  I  answer,  that  even  if  the  phenomenon  in  ques- 
tion is  not  yet  explained  by  my  theory,  yet,  if  it  is  not  con- 
trary to  my  theory,  and  impossible,  if  my  theory  is  true, 
then  may  the  theory  still  be  true.  But  I  do  riot  concede  so 
much.  1  contend  that  my  theory  explains  the  phenomenon, 
without  an  hypothesis.  It  is  not  an  hypothesis  that  great 
rains  are  constantly  falling  on  the  mountains  of  Abyssinia 
during  the  whole  time  that  the  wind  blows  from  the  Medi- 
terranean, across  Egypt  towards  those  mountains.  It  is 
not  an  hypothesis  that  the  upper  current  of  the  atmosphere 
over  Egypt  runs  in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  moun- 
tains of  Abyssinia  towards  the  north.  It  is  not  an  hypoth- 
esis that  this  upper  current  contains  in  it  the  immense  quan- 
tity of  caloric  of  elasticity  given  out  by  the  great  quantity  of 
vapor  condensed  there.  It  is  not  an  hypothesis  that  this  air, 
if  brought  down  to  the  surface  of  the  earth  in  Egypt,  would 
be  about  40°  warmer  than  the  air  at  the  surface.  It  is  not 
an  hypothesis  that  cold  air  will  not  rise  in  warm,  or  in  air 
warmer  than  itself;  therefore,  if  thousands  of  upmoving 
columns  of  air  should  ascend  every  day  over  Egypt,  as  I 
suppose  they  do,  they  would  not  penetrate  far  into  the  up- 
per current  of  air,  because  that  air  would  be  hotter  than 
themselves.  Besides,  as  these  two  currents  move  in  differ- 
ent directions,  the  upmoving  columns  would  be  cut  in  two, 
and  the  lower  part  carried  to  the  south,  and  the  upper  to 


438  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  north ;  and  in  such  cases,  if  my  theory  is  true,  rain 
could  seldom  be  formed.  If  the  wind  blows  from  the  south, 
then  it  will  have  parted  with  its  moisture  in  crossing  the 
mountains  of  Abyssinia,  just  as  the  air  parts  with  all  its  mois- 
ture in  crossing  the  Andes,  before  it  reaches  Peru.  And  if 
the  air  blows  from  the  east  or  west  over  Egypt,  it  is  not 
probable  it  would  have  much  vapor  in  it,  having  passed 
over  dry  sands. 

After  all,  if  this  explanation  is  unsatisfactory,  and  even 
incorrect,  it  does  not  invalidate  the  truth  of  my  theory.  It 
was  some  considerable  time  before  the  theory  of  gravitation, 
simple  and  beautiful  as  it  is,  could  be  reconciled  to  the  lu- 
nar anomalies  ;  but  now  these  anomalies  furnish  the  most 
decisive  proofs  of  its  truth. 

Again;  the  Professor  said  "he  rejected  my  theory  because 
another  explained  the  phenomena  better."  Under  this  head 
an  experiment  was  shown  to  prove  that  a  whirling  motion 
in  the  air  would  explain  the  phenomena  of  storms  better 
than  an  inward  and  upward  motion.  A  very  shallow, 
broad  vessel,  with  water  in  it,  was  made  to  revolve  rapidly 
in  a  horizontal  plain,  to  prove  that  if  air  so  revolved,  it 
would  move  downwards  in  the  middle  and  upwards  and 
outwards  at  the  sides;  which  the  Professor  said  explained  the 
phenomena  of  storms  arid  water-spouts  better  than  my 
system. 

In  this  experiment,  it  appeared  to  me,  the  Professor  utterly 
failed  to  show  that  any  one  of  the  phenomena  attending  the 
water-spout  could  be  accounted  for.  If,  indeed,  the  air 
rushed  outwards  below  all  round  this  metoer  and  down- 
wards in  the  middle,  then  would  the  experiment  exhibited 
be  analogous.  But  what  did  the  diagram  of  the  New  Ha- 
ven tornado,  shown  by  the  Professor,  prove  ?  Why,  most 
certainly,  that  the  air  moved  inwards  on  three  quarters  of 
a  circle  at  least  —  at  the  two  sides  and  in  the  rear.  I  un- 
derstood the  professor  to  say  that  the  air  went  up  on  the 
sides  and  down  in  the  middle  of  the  tornado,  and  that  his 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  439 

experiment  proved  it,  provided  there  was  a  whirl  in  the 
air.  Now,  I  think  the  experiment  did  not  even  prove  that ; 
for  if  the  sides  of  the  vessel  had  been  taken  away,  the  wa- 
ter, on  being  put  into  circular  motion,  would  have  moved 
outwards  and  not  upwards  at  the  sides.  And,  in  the  case 
of  the  water-spout,  if  it  whirled,  the  air  must  have  moved 
outwards  and  not  upwards,  for  the  sides  of  the  vessel  were 
all  removed  in  that  meteor.  It  would  almost  appear  from 
this  experiment,  that  the  Professor  was  an  advocate  for  my 
theory,  and  intended  to  ridicule  the  whirlwind  theory  in  the 
most  sarcastic  manner ;  for  there  the  Professor  had  his  dia- 
gram to  prove,  by  ocular  demonstration,  that  the  air  did 
blow  inwards  at  the  sides  and  in  the  rear ;  and  then  he  ex- 
hibited an  experiment  proving  that  if  there  was  a  whirl, 
the  air  would  move  outwards  on  all  sides.  That  this  was 
really  the  object  of  that  experiment  is  highly  probable  from 
two  considerations :  first,  the  Professor,  in  the  beginning 
of  his  lecture,  avowed  that  he  was  not  an  advocate  for 
Redfield's  theory;  and  second,  it  is  the  only  supposition 
which  will  free  him  from  the  absurdity  of  bringing  forward 
an  experiment  to  prove  a  theory  which  it  absolutely  dis- 
proved. 

If,  indeed,  the  experiment  was  brought  forward  to  show 
that  a  rapid  whirl  would  cause  an  outward  motion  of  the 
air  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  a  downward  motion  of  the 
air  in  the  middle,  and  an  inward  motion  of  the  air  above, 
and,  of  course,  a  fall  of  the  barometer  in  the  middle,  it  would 
have  been  successful ;  but,  unfortunately,  there  were  no 
such  motions  of  the  air  proved  by  the  phenomena  exhibited 
in  the  New  Haven  tornado.  The  Professor  acknowledged 
there  was  an  inward  motion  of  the  air  below  at  the  sides, 
and  I  am  unable  to  perceive  why  he  did  not  acknowledge 
the  same  in  front  and  rear,  as  the  corn-stalks,  according  to 
his  own  showing,  in  the  New  Haven  spout,  all  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  path,  lay  with  their  tops  forwards ;  and  many 


440  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

bodies,  near  the  centre,  were  moved  backwards  first,  and 
afterwards  carried  forwards,  and  some  were  found  west  of 
the  place  where  they  originally  stood.  And  the  Professor 
did  not  attempt  to  deny  that,  in  other  tornadoes,  many  trees 
near  the  centre  of  the  path  are  thrown  down  backwards, 
and  are  found  lying  underneath  those  which  are  thrown 
down  forwards. 

If  it  is  contended  that  there  is  both  an  inward  and  whirl- 
ing motion,  in  tornadoes,  then  the  experiment  altogether 
fails  to  illustrate  or  confirm  the  assertion.  But  the  Profes- 
sor had  a  ball  attached  to  a  string,  which  passed  through  a 
hole  in  the  centre  of  a  horizontal  plane ;  to  this  ball,  laid 
on  the  plane,  a  rapid  motion  was  given,  and  prevented  from 
flying  off  the  plane  by  holding  the  string  below ;  and  when 
the  string  was  drawn  down,  the  ball,  in  its  motion  round, 
approximated  the  centre  with  increased  velocity;  and  "so 
it  was  said  the  air  would  do,  if  a  whirling  motion  should 
be  given  to  it,"  by  some  unknown  cause,  or  rather  have  a 
whirling  motion  as  an  ultimate  cause,  it  being  impossible 
to  assign  any  cause  for  the  whirl,  or  even  conceive  of  one. 

But  neither  does  this  experiment  prove  what  it  was  in- 
tended to  prove ;  for  it  is  manifest  that  the  ball  would 
neither  have  moved  in  a  circle,  nor  in  a  spiral  inwards,  if 
it  had  not  been  attached  to  the  string;  and  if  the  string  had 
broken,  the  ball  would  have  instantly  flown  off  in  a  tangent. 
Now,  the  particles  of  air  supposed  to  whirl  in  a  tornado 
had  no  string  attached.  Besides,  if  "it  should  even  be 
granted  that  there  was  a  spiral  motion  inwards,  it  would 
not  account  for  the  fall  of  the  barometer  for  any  considera- 
ble length  of  time,  for  the  great  accumulation  of  air  which 
would  be  the  result,  would  cause  the  barometer  to  rise 
above  the  mean  in  the  centre  of  the  spout,  unless  it  is 
granted  that  there  is  a  more  rapid  outward  motion  above, 
which  can  only  be  accounted  for  on  my  theory. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  the  fall  of  the  barometer 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  441 

is  the  only  phenomenon  which  the  Professor  mentioned  as 
being  better  accounted  for  by  the  supposition  of  a  whirling 
motion  than  by  my  theory ;  in  this  there  was  a  manifest 
failure,  unless  the  air  went  out  at  the  sides  below,  and 
down  in  the  middle,  and  inwards  above.  But  besides  the 
positive  evidence  furnished  by  the  Professor  himself,  that 
this  is  not  the  fact  in  tornadoes,  it  is  certain  that  if  the  air 
came  down  in  the  centre,  it  would  not  only  not  form  cloud, 
but  it  would  dissolve  any  cloud  which  it  might  have  con- 
tained in  the  upper  regions,  from  which  it  is  supposed  to 
descend.  The  Professor  knew  that  I  had  asserted,  if  air 
should  descend  from  a  height  sufficiently  great  to  be  con- 
densed into  half  the  space  by  the  increased  pressure,  it 
would,  by  the  heat  of  condensation,  then  be  90°  warmer, 
and  be  able  to  hold  eight  times  as  much  vapor  as  it  could 
before  it  began  to  descend.  This  was  proved  by  experiment, 
and  was  not  contradicted  by  the  Professor.  It  may,  then, 
very  fairly  be  inferred,  that  he  has  abandoned  the  doctrine 
which  he  formerly  taught,  "  that  a  sudden  production  of 
cold  would  follow,  of  course,  from  the  descent  of  such  large 
quantities  of  air  from  the  regions  of  perpetual  frost,  as 
would  be  driven  down  by  the  meteors  of  the  13th  of  No- 
vember, 1833,  falling  into  our  atmosphere  with  immense 
velocity,"  as  he  said  they  did.  [Silliman's  Jour.,  vol.  18, 
p.  160.] 

The  Professor  accuses  me  of  making  hypotheses,  and 
founding  my  explanations  on  them;  he  attempted  to  point 
out  but  one,  and  that  is  already  answered.  Let  us  see  for 
a  moment  how  the  old  theory  stands  in  this  respect.  It 
first  supposes  that  large  quantities  of  cold  air  from  northern 
latitudes  can  be  brought  to  meet  and  mingle  with  large 
quantities  of  warm  air  from  southern  latitudes,  without 
assigning  any  cause  of  this  meeting  and  mingling  —  which 
is  not  only  an  hypothesis,  but  one,  if  granted,  that  would 
not  explain  the  phenomena.  It  supposes  that  on  mingling, 

56 


442  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

a  sufficient  quantity  of  vapor  would  be  condensed  to  produce 
such  rains  as  occur  in  nature  ;  that  is,  in  the  Catskill  shower, 
for  instance,  more  than  twice  as  much  vapor  as  the  whole 
atmosphere  over  the  region  of  the  rain  contained.  Although, 
if  the  advocates  of  this  theory  were  to  calculate  the  quan- 
tity, they  would  find  that  not  half  an  inch  of  rain  would  be 
produced,  if  the  two  halves  of  the  atmosphere  were  mingled 
together,  both  saturated  with  vapor,  one  at  the  temperature 
of  80°,  and  the  other  at  zero.  It  supposes,  in  the  case  of 
hail,  that  the  hailstone  commences  its  formation  at  a  great 
height,  with  a  small  nucleus,  and  receives  continual  acces- 
sions of  matter  in  descending,  until  it  reaches  the  ground; 
at  which  time,  in  some  well  authenticated  instances,  it  is  a 
foot  in  circumference ;  and  this  is  the  Professor's  own  theory. 
[Silliman's  Journal,  vol.  18,  page  11.] 

Now  this  is  not  only  an  hypothesis,  but  contrary  to  the 
known  laws  of  nature.  For,  to  say  nothing  of  the  heat  of 
the  lower  air,  which  would  have  a  tendency  to  melt  the 
stone  in  part  as  it  descended,  it  is  known  that  it  would  be 
all  melted  by  the  caloric  of  elasticity  alone  before  it  would 
condense  upon  itself  one-seventh  of  its  whole  weight  of 
vapor.  This  may  easily  be  conceived  and  demonstrated, 
by  holding  a  piece  of  ice  in  the  steam  which  issues  from  an 
opening  in  a  steam  boiler;  for  it  is  known  that  steam  con- 
tains the  same  quantity  of  caloric,  at  all  temperatures. 
And  even  if  the  nucleus  had  been  57°  below  zero — the- 
temperature  of  the  interplanetary  spaces  ' — it  would  not 
condense  on  itself  one  tenth  of  its  own  weight  before  it 
would  be  raised  to  the  temperature  of  32°,  at  which  point  a 
further  accession  of  vapor  would  diminish  its  size.  It  sup- 
poses that  the  air  in  the  region  where  clouds  are  formed, 
contains  a  sufficient  quantity  of  vapor  to  form  such  clouds 
and  rain  as  nature  produces  ;  whereas  a  knowledge  of  the 
dew  point  would  teach  its  advocates  that  all  the  vapor 
which  the  air  contains,  above  the  region  of  perpetual  con- 

1  According  to  Fourier  —  Pouillet,  however,  makes  it  much  more. 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  443 

gelation,  even  if  it  was  saturated  from  that  point  to  the  top 
of  the  atmosphere,  which  it  never  is,  would  not  make  one 
inch  and  a  half  of  rain  if  it  were  all  condensed.  Now,  in 
moderately  cold  weather,  one  of  two  things  is  certain,  either 
a  very  large  portion  of  a  storm  cloud  must  be  above  the 
region  of  congelation,  where  there  is  but  little  vapor  to  con- 
dense, or  if  not,  then  is  the  perpendicular  diameter  of  the 
cloud,  from  its  base  to  its  summit,  so  small  that  the  stratum 
of  air  of  that  thickness,  can  furnish  but  a  very  minute 
quantity  of  vapor  to  form  cloud. 

It  supposes  that  the  air  in  a  summer  day,  when  thousands 
of  cumuli  form,  mingles  hot  with  cold,  and  forms  clouds  in 
the  form  of  sugar  loaves,  with  flat  bases,  all  on  the  same 
level  with  intervening  spaces,  where  there  is  no  mingling, 
without  assigning  any  reason  why  it  should  mingle  in  that 
shape  with  the  bases  on  the  same  level,  and  their  tops  at 
different  heights.  It  supposes  that  this  mingling  goes  on, 
without  saying  whether  it  is  done  by  air  coming  down  from 
above,  and  mixing  with  air  below,  or  whether  currents 
meet  in  a  thousand  different  directions  on  the  same  hori- 
zontal level,  or  how  there  can  be  so  many  "patches"  of 
cold  and  warm  air  in  the  neighborhood  of  each  other,  or 
why  they  rush  into  each  other's  embraces  without  any 
imaginable  cause. 

If  it  is  supposed  that  the  cloud  is  formed  by  a  current  of 
cold  air  coming  down  "  from  the  regions  of  perpetual  frost," 
and  mingling  with  the  warm  humid  air  below,  if  it  pro- 
duced cloud  on  this  principle,  it  would  not  be  likely  to  stop 
till  it  reached  the  surface  of  the  earth  ;  and  the  cloud  would 
be  hollow,  for  the  internal  parts  of  the  descending  current 
could  not  mingle  with  the  surrounding  air,  and  there  would 
then  be  an  outward  motion  of  the  air  in  all  directions,  at 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  from  the  centre  of  the  descending 
current,  which  is  contrary  to  known  facts.  If  the  cloud  is 
supposed  to  form  by  an  ascending  current  mingling  with 


444  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

cold  air  above,  in  this  case  too  the  cloud  would  be  hollow, 
for  only  the  external  parts  of  the  ascending  current  could 
mingle  with  the  air  through  which  it  passed.     And  if  dif- 
ferent currents  on  the  same  horizontal  plane  are  supposed 
to  mingle,  it  is  an  hypothesis  contrary  to  nature,  to  suppose 
they  would  be  of  such  different  temperatures  as  to  produce 
those  very  dense  clouds  which  we  see  formed,  by  hundreds, 
almost  every  day  in  the  summer,  when  the  air  to  the  north 
of  one  cloud  is  as  warm  as  the  air  to  the  south.     When 
gentlemen  make  hypotheses  they  ought  to  be  careful  not  to 
make  them  contrary  to  known  laws  of  nature,  and  when 
made  they  ought  to  explain  at  least  some  of  the  phenomena 
for    which  they  are   deduced.     The  Professor    concluded 
his  strictures,  by  reading  me  a  lecture  on  monomania,  with- 
out, however,  directly  mentioning  that  term,  acknowledging 
"  there  was  magnanimity  in  the  course  I  was  pursuing,  but 
warning  me  of  the  danger  of  letting  my  mind  dwell  too 
much    on    one  subject,   and  expressing  regret  that  I  had 
provoked  this  discussion."     He  declared  he  "  had  no  in- 
terest but  his  desire  for  truth,  in  demolishing  his  opponent's 
theory ;  nor  could  he  indeed  expect  to  do  so  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  that  gentleman,  for  he  knew  he  had  now  become  so 
enthusiastic  in  the  opinions  he  advocated,  in  opposition  to 
nearly  the  whole  world  of  science,  that  he  was  blind  to  all 
evidence,  and  deaf  to  all  arguments." 

These  observations  were  made,  and  this  persevering  te- 
nacity to  the  old  theory  manifested  in  the  face  of  the  follow- 
ing demonstration  of  its  incompetence  to  explain  the  phe- 
nomena which  had  been  published  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Franklin  Institute,  in  1836.  Let  the  candid  reader  judge 
who  is  "  blind  to  evidence,  and  deaf  to  argument." 

Here  it  may  be  worth  while  to  turn  aside  for  a  moment, 
to  examine  the  efficiency  of  the  most  plausible  theory  of 
rain  that  has  ever  been  given  to  the  world.  I  mean  that  of 


DR.  BUTTON'S  THEORY  OF  RAIN.  445 

Dr.  Hutton.  He  supposes  two  currents  of  air  of  different 
temperatures,  both  nearly  saturated  with  vapor,  to  be  min- 
gled together,  and  that  a  precipitation  of  course  takes  place, 
in  accordance  with  the  known  fact  that  at  their  mean  tem- 
perature all  their  vapor  cannot  be  retained,  and  therefore 
the  surplus  will  be  precipitated.  This  theory  is  defective 
-in  two  respects :  first,  it  does  not  show  how  two  currents  of 
air  could  be  mingled  to  any  considerable  extent;  and  second, 
it  does  not  show  by  calculation,  that  rain,  to  any  considera- 
ble amount,  would  be  produced,  even  if  large  masses  of  air 
at  very  different  temperatures  should  be  mingled  together, 
which  it  would  be  easy  to  show  never  can  happen,  espe- 
cially in  the  torrid  zone.  It  may  fairly  be  presumed  that 
no  advocate  of  the  Huttonian  theory  would  suppose  that 
more  than  five  hundred  feet  of  a  stratum  of  cold  air  could 
be  mingled  with  a  stratum  of  warm  air  five  hundred  feet  of 
perpendicular  height.  Now,  it  will  be  found  by  calculation, 
that  if  one  of  these  strata  is  at  60°,  and  the  other  at  40°, 
and  both  saturated  previous  to  their  mixture,  the  whole 
amount  of  precipitation,  provided  they  took  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  50°,  would  be  less  than  a  grain  and  one  half  on 
each  square  inch  of  surface.  But  as  the  latent  caloric 
evolved  in  the  condensation  of  the  vapor  would  not  suffer 
the  mean  temperature  of  the  two  strata,  when  mixed,  to  be 
acquired,  but  some  temperature  above  50°,  therefore  a  less 
quantity  than  that  mentioned  would  be  precipitated.  Such 
a  quantity,  in  most  cases,  would  be  entirely  evaporated  in 
passing  down  through  the  air  below,  and  never  reach  the 
-earth. 

It  was  mentioned  before,  that  5.1  inches  of  rain  fell  in 
Wilmington,  on  the  29th  of  July,  1834,  in  two  and  a  half 
hours ;  let  us  see  whether  such  a  rain  could  be  produced  at 
all,  on  the  Huttonian  principles,  making  the  most  extrava- 
gant allowance  for  the  quantity  of  air  mingled,  and  also  for 
the  difference  of  temperature  of  the  two  strata. 


446  PHILOSOPHY  OF   STORMS. 

Let  us  suppose  then,  that  one  half  of  the  atmosphere  at 
80°  Fahr.,  should  be  mingled  with  the  other  half  at  zero, 
over  the  region  round  Wilmington,  and  that  5.1  inches  of 
rain  is  the  result.  What  will  be  the  temperature  of  the 
mingled  mass  after  the  rain?  The  mean  temperature  is 
40°,  which  would  be  the  temperature  after  the  mixture,  if 
no  latent  caloric  is  given  out  in  the  condensation  of  vapor. 
But  from  the  principles  explained  before,  it  will  be  found 
that  as  five  inches  of  rain  is  ^  of  the  whole  atmosphere  in 
weight,  the  latent  caloric  given  out  in  the  condensation  of 
the  vapor  forming  this  rain,  will  be  sufficient  to  heat  the 
whole  compound  59.7°,  which  being  added  to  the  mean 
temperature  40°,  will  make  the  temperature  of  the  air  after 
the  rain  99.7°,  almost  20°  hotter  than  the  hottest  half  of  the 
atmosphere  before  the  mixture. 

This  result,  however  unexpected,  ought  not  to  appear  sur- 
prising. For  if  gentlemen  will  frame  theories  on  loose  prin- 
ciples, without  once  putting  these  principles  to  the  test  of 
calculation,  and  without  even  taking  the  least  notice  of  the 
latent  heat  of  vapor,  or  the  specific  heat  of  air,  they  ought 
not  to  be  surprised  that  a  little  plain  arithmetic  should  dis- 
sipate their  empty  visions,  and  "leave  not  a  wreck  behind." 

Theorists  will  pardon  me  for  this  sweeping  denunciation, 
when  I  now  voluntarily  come  forward  and  plead  guilty  to 
the  same  charge;  for  I  too  framed  an  hypothesis  to  account 
for  rain,  and  advanced  it  under  the  high  sounding  name  of 
theory. 

Having  found  that  the  Huttonian  theory  would  not  bear 
the  test  of  calculation,  I  imagined  there  was  but  one  other 
possible  mode  of  condensing  vapor,  and  that  was,  that  the 
vapor,  by  its  own  elasticity  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  atmos- 
phere, thrust  itself  up  into  a  cold  stratum  above,  whenever 
such  a  one  overlapped  the  one  below,  and  was  thus  con- 
densed into  rain. 

This  hypothesis  I  thought  was  altogether  reasonable,  from 


DR.  BUTTON'S  THEORY  OF  RAIN.  447 

the  great  discovery  of  Dalton  and  Gay-Lnssac,  that  vapor 
in  the  atmosphere  rests  only  on  vapor,  and  thus  forms  an 
independent  atmosphere,  and  is  not  supported  in  the  least 
degree  by  the  air.  I  imagined  then,  that  vapor  could  rush 
with  great  velocity  from  air  where  the  dew  point  was  high, 
to  air  where  the  dew  point  was  low.  But  when  I  discovered 
that  some  rains  were  so  great  as  to  be  beyond  the  power  of 
this  theory  too,  I  began  to  suspect  the  hypothesis  itself, 
which  induced  me  to  put  it  to  the  following  trial. 

I  united  two  glass  retorts  together  by  their  necks,  then 
having  covered  one  with  snow,  I  put  ten  drops  of  water  into 
the  other  and  placed  it  in  a  vessel  of  water  at  the  tempera- 
ture of  130°,  and  let  it  remain  in  that  situation  seven  hours, 
the  temperature  of  the  room  during  the  experiment  being 
about  70°;  not  one  drop  was  distilled  over  in  all  that  time. 

I  then  took  the  retorts  apart,  leaving  open  the  neck  of  the 
one  having  the  water  in  it;  it  has  continued  in  the  room, 
open  now  for  thirty  days,  with  a  temperature  of  70°  night 
and  day,  and  the  dew  point  in  the  room  never  as  high  as 
40°,  the  ten  drops  of  water  .being  now  only  slightly  dimin- 
ished. 

This  refutes  the  hypothesis  of  rapid  permeation  of  air  by 
vapor,  and  indeed,  proves  that  vapor,  like  heat,  when  it 
passes  up  to  the  upper  regions,  must  be  carried  by  the  air, 
and  not  thrust  up  by  its  own  elasticity.  But  to  return  from 
this  digression;  if  the  Huttonian  theory  is  unable  to  pro- 
duce such  a  rain  as  that  at  Wilmington,  what  will  it  do 
with  the  one  which  occurred  at  Genoa,  oh  the  25th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1822,  when  it  rained  thirty  inches  in  twenty-four 
hours ;  or  the  one  at  Joyeuse,  on  the  9th  of  October,  1827, 
when  it  rained  thirty-one  inches  in  twenty -two  hours?1 

Or  how  will  it  account  for  a  storm  of  hail2  which  fell  in 
Orkney,  on  the  24th  of  July,  1818,  in  the  afternoon,  nine 

1  Pouillet,  Elements  de  Physique,  II,  758.          a  Edinburgh  Trans.  1623. 


448  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

inches  deep  in  less  than  nine  minutes  ?  And  here  it  may; 
be  remarked,  that  this  is  the  storm  mentioned  before,  in, 
which  the  barometer  was  observed  to  fall  nearly  two  inches, 
near  the  end  of  the  storrn,  when  it  was  not  nearly  so  violent 
as  it  was  in  other  places.  Or  how  will  it  account  for  the 
immense  quantity  of  rain  which  fell  at  Catskill,  New  York,,, 
on  the  26th  of  July,  1819? 

About  half  past  five,  P.  M.,  a  dense  black  cloud  rose  up 
from  the  south  west,  accompanied  with  a  fresh  wind,  and 
about  the  same  time,  or  a  little  after,  a  very  thick  dark 
cloud  rose  up  rapidly  from  the  north  east.  They  met  im- 
mediately over  the  town ;  at  this  instant  a  powerful  rain, 
commenced. 

As  soon  as  the  clouds  met,  they  seemed  to  fall  down  on 
the  river,  over  which  they  met,  and  then  the  cloud  rested 
on  the  water  in  such  a  manner  that  no  space  could  be  seen 
between  them.  For  half  an  hour  there  was  no  appearance 
of  drops  of  rain,  the  water  appeared  to  descend  in  large 
streams  and  sheets.  In  this  half  hour  the  quantity  fallen 
was  above  twelve  inches  on  a  level.  Two  persons  testify 
that  some  time  after  the  clouds  met,  they  saw  at  the  same 
moment  a  water-spout  rising  up  from  the  river,  nearly  op- 
posite, with  a  broad  bottom,  ascending  to  the  clouds  with  a 
whirling  motion,  in  the  form  of  a  pretty  regular  cone. 

The  whole  quantity  which  fell  was  more  than  fifteen 
inches,  over  a  space  of  about  eighty  square  miles ;  and  as 
far  as  I  can  collect  from  the  whole  account,  which  is  given 
at  large  in  Silliman's  Journal,  vol.  4,  p.  124,  this  spout  was 
stationary. 

The  intelligent  author  of  the  account,  Benjamin  W. 
Dwight,  says,  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  eleven  days  be- 
fore, in  the  afternoon,  there  fell,  in  a  shower  of  short  con- 
tinuance, more  than  six  inches  of  rain. 

This  theory  has  lately  been  brought  forward  and  ex- 
tended by  Professor  Olmsted,  of  Yale  College,  with  a  view 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  449 

of  accounting  more  particularly  for  hail,  than  the  original 
author  of  the  theory  had  done.  And  though  I  am  aware 
that  the  strength  of  my  theory  does  not  depend  on  the  weak- 
ness of  any  other,  I  think  it  proper  to  give  the  Professor's 
remarks  a  passing  notice. 

"  We  assign,"  says  Mr.  Olmsted,  "  as  the  cause  of  hail 
storms,  the  congelation  of  watery  vapor  of  a  body  of  warm 
and  humid  air,  by  its  suddenly  mixing  with  an  exceedingly 
cold  wind,  in  the  higher  regions  of  the  atmosphere.  Let  us 
examine,"  says  he,  "  the  effects  which  would  result  from  the 
meeting  of  two  opposite  winds,  at  the  height  of  10,000  feet, 
during  the  heat  of  summer,  the  one  blowing  from  the  lati- 
tude of  30°,  or  from  the  confines  of  the  torrid  zone,  and  the 
other  from  the  latitude  of  50°,  or  the  northern  part  of  British 
America.  If  they  had  equal  velocities,  they  would  meet  at 
the  parallel  of  40°;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Gulf  stream, 
a  fluid  does  not  readily  change  its  temperature,  merely  by 
flowing  through  a  body  of  the  same  fluid  of  a  different  tem- 
perature, and  especially  air  through  air,  each  current  would 
retain  nearly  its  original  temperature. 

11  The  southerly  wind,  blowing  from  a  point  which  is  still 
2000  feet  below  the  line  of  perpetual  congelation,  is  com- 
paratively warm,  while  the  northern,  coming  from  a  point 
4000  feet  above  the  same  boundary  of  the  empire  of  frost, 
will  have  a  degree  of  cold  probably  surpassing  any  with 
which  we  are  acquainted.  We  infer  from  our  preliminary 
principles,  that  immediately  on  meeting,  the  watery  vapor 
of  the  wanner  would  be  frozen  with  an  intensity  corres- 
ponding to  the  temperature  of  the  colder  current ;  that  the 
minute  hail  stones  thus  formed  and  endued  with  such  ex- 
cessive cold,  would  begin  to  descend,  and  accumulate  to  a 
size  proportionate  to  the  intensity  of  the  cold  of  the  nu- 
cleus, and  to  the  space  through  which  they  descended,  and 
to  the  humidity  of  the  lower  strata  of  the  atmosphere ; 
that  is,  the  colder  they  were  when  they  began  to  fall,  the 
57 


450  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

farther  they  fell,  and  the  more  humid  the  air,  the  larger 
they  would  become." 

As  Professor  Olmsted  has  not  shown  how  these  currents 
could  be  generated,  the  theory  is  plainly  incomplete  on  this 
ground.  And  besides,  even  if  they  should  be  generated,  it 
does  not  appear  how  they  could  be  mixed ;  for  either  they 
wouldjneet  each  other  in  opposite  directions,  and  so  stop 
each  other's  motion  without  mixing  to  any  great  extent, 
or  they  would  slip  by  one  another,  without  much  affecting 
each  other's  temperature,  according  to  the  Professor's  own 
reasoning. 

But  even,  if  it  could  be  shown  that  a  mixture  of  two 
currents  could  take  place  suddenly,  of  even  1000  feet  in 
perpendicular  extent,  it  would  be  very  easy  to  show  that  un- 
der much  more  favorable  circumstances,  the  dew  point  be- 
ing higher,  a  grain  and  a  half  of  rain  to  the  square  inch 
would  not  be  precipitated,  and  that,  in  most  cases,  not  a 
particle  of  this  would  reach  the  ground,  for  it  would  be 
evaporated  in  its  descent,  unless  the  air  below  should  hap- 
pen to  be  absolutely  saturated  with  vapor,  which  seldom 
occurs. 

But,  according  to  Mr.  Olmsted,  "  the  minute  hail  stones 
being  endued  with  a  cold  probably  surpassing  any  with 
which  we  are  acquainted,  would  begin  to  descend  and  ac- 
cumulate to  a  size  proportioned  to  the  intensity  of  the  cold 
of  the  original  nucleus." 

This  remark  is  erroneous  in  two  respects.  First,  the 
cold  is  certainly  not  more  intense  at  this  great  elevation, 
than  one  degree  for  every  one  hundred  yards,  and  is,  there- 
fore, in  the  northern  current  only  13f  below  the  freezing 
point;  for,  by  supposition,  it  was  only  1333  yards  above 
the  line  of  perpetual  congelation,  when  it  left  latitude  50°. 

Second ;  the  original  nucleus  would  not  accumulate  in 
the  manner  described ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  would  be 
entirely  melted  by  the  time  it  had  descended  far  enough 


PROFESSOR  OLMSTED'S  OBJECTIONS.  451 

into  the  air  below  the  line  of  perpetual  congelation,  to  have 
condensed  vapor  less  than  one  seventh  of  its  weight.  This 
will  easily  be  perceived  by  comparing  the  relative  latent 
heats  of  vapor  and  of  water,  and  this,  too,  even  if  it  re- 
ceived no  heat  from  the  warm  air  into  which  it  fell.  But 
even  if  the  original  nucleus  were  of  the  temperature  of  the 
interplanetary  spaces,  57°  or  58°  below  zero,  it  would  not 
increase  one  fifth  in  size  by  condensing  on  itself  the  vapor, 
before  it  would  be  entirely  melted  by  the  disengaged  latent 
caloric. 

Professor  Olmsted  concludes  his  essay  by  saying  that  the 
momentum  of  a  hail  stone  would  be  one  hundred  times 
greater  if  it  did  not,  at  every  stage  of  its  progress  down  to 
the  very  ground,  receive  new  accessions  of  watery  vapor, 
which,  being  matter  at  rest,  is  to  be  put  in  motion  by  the 
falling  body,  and  consequently  its  speed  is  continally  re- 
tarded. But  he  must  now  perceive,  from  what  has  already 
been  said,  that  the  velocity  of  descent  will  not  be  dimin- 
ished one  fifth,  even  when  the  stone  has  condensed  upon 
itself  vapor  enough  to  melt  it. 

Before  I  take  leave  of  this  extension  of  Hutton's  theory, 
I  must  notice  another  remark  of  Professor  Olmsted,  which, 
if  correct,  would  of  itself  prove  fatal  to  the  theory  which  I 
have  advanced.  He  says :  "  We  have  certain  evidence 
from  the  concourse  of  opposite  winds,  and  from  the  density 
and  consequent  blackness  of  the  clouds,  that  a  great  con- 
densation takes  place  in  the  region  of  the  storm."  Now, 
it  appears  to  me  that  it  would  be  much  easier  to  account 
for  the  concourse  of  winds,  by  supposing  a  rarefaction  in 
the  region  of  the  storm,  just  as  a  rarefaction  in  a  chimney 
is  the  cause  of  the  air  in  the  room  moving  towards  the  fire- 
place. This,  to  my  mind,  is  an  elementary  principle ;  and 
no  authority,  however  great,  could  have  the  least  influence 
in  changing  my  view  of  it.  From  the  following  extracts, 
however,  it  would  appear  that  Professor  Olmsted  has  the 


452  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

authority  of  Marshall  Hall  and  Mr.  Varley  in  his  favor  on 
this  point,  Mr.  Hall  says  :  "  The  transition  of  atmospheric 
moisture  from  the  elastic  to  the  fluid  state,  must  be  attended 
by  a  diminution  of  bulk  and  elasticity,  and  consequently 
by  a  movement  in  the  adjacent  regions  of  the  atmosphere 
and  by  a  fall  of  the  barometer.'3  [Jour.  Science  and  the 
Arts,  vol.  xx.,  p.  20.] 

Mr.  Varley  endeavors  to  show,  in  correspondence  with 
what  he  frequently  sees,  that  storms  of  lightning  will 
always  occasion  a  current  of  wind  from  the  external  re- 
gions towards  itself.  Hence  a  dead  calm  preceding  a  storm, 
and  a  fall  of  the  barometer,  as  this  is  the  focus  of  conden- 
sation. [Vol.  xxxiv.  p.  162,  of  Tilloch's  Mag.] 

In  conclusion,  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that,  in  ad- 
vocating the  whirlwind  character  of  the  tornado,  the  Pro- 
fessor took  no  notice  of  a  "  test/'  laid  down  by  Mr.  Red- 
field,  in  the  following  words  : 

"If  the  traces  or  prostrations  in  the  paths  of  tornadoes 
be  the  eifects  of  a  wind  blowing  from  all  sides  directly 
towards  the  centre  of  the  tornado,  then  the  predominant 
effects  of  the  wind  in  the  centre  of  its  path,  will  be  found 
parallel  to  its  course ;  but  if  the  effects  here,  be  transverse 
to  the  line  of  progress,  then  the  prostration  was  occasioned 
by  a  whirlwind;  no  matter  in  which  of  the  transverse,  or 
longitudinal  directions,  the  effects  may  have  been  pro- 
duced." 

This  test  I  had  accepted  as  a  true  one ;  and  Pro- 
fessor Olmsted  had  already  published  to  the  world,  that 
"  near  the  centre  of  the  New  Haven  tornado,  the  direction  of 
prostrate  bodies  is  coincident  with  that  of  the  storm."  If 
Professor  Olmsted  is  "  blind  to  evidence"  furnished  by  him- 
self, which  Mr.  Redfield  says  would  satisfy  him  of  the 
truth  of  my  theory,  then  must  I  despair  of  ever  making 
him  a  convert  to  my  theory.  I  appeal  to  the  unprejudiced. 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  453 

Objections  by  Mr.  Graham  Hutchison,   of  Glasgow •,   with 

Replies. 

202.  DEAR  SIR,  — Last  winter,  I  carefully  read  all  the 
papers  regarding  your  meteorological  opinions,  which  you 
transmitted  me.  As  I  did  not  take  notes  of  the  various 
statements  contained  in  them,  I  now  put  down  the  follow- 
ing remarks  merely  from  recollection. 

According  to  your  theory,  rain,  hail,  snow,  water-spouts, 
land-spouts,  cross  currents  of  air,  and  barometric  fluctua- 
tions, are  all  occasioned  by  one  and  the  same  cause,  namely, 
upward  vortices  of  air,  produced  and  maintained  by  the 
same  means,  namely,  heat  evolved  during  the  condensation 
of  invisible  vapor  into  clouds.  And  so  far  as  I  can  ascer- 
tain from  the  documents  transmitted  me,  you  conceive  that 
all  these  meteorological  phenomena  are  never  produced  in 
any  other  way.  Your  theory  is  both  simple  and  ingenious ; 
but  I  find  great  difficulty  in  conceiving  how  the  various 
meteorological  phenomena  presented  to  observation  in  this, 
and  in  other  countries,  can  be  reconciled  therewith,  or 
explained  thereby.  I  shall  state  what  appear  to  me  to  be 
imperfections  in  your  theory,  and  objections  that  may  be 
urged  against  it,  just  as  they  suggest  themselves. 

1st.  I  find  no  account  given  in  your  theory  how  the  con- 
densation of  invisible  vapor  into  cloud,  which  gives  out  the 
heat  that  occasions  the  upward  aerial  vortex,  commences. 
And  admitting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  rain  is 
always,  and  only,  occasioned  by  an  upward  aerial  vortex, 
which,  according  to  your  theory,  so  far  as  I  understand  it, 
possesses  the  principle  of  self-perpetuation,  I  find  no  expla- 
nation given  of  how  the  upward  vortex,  and  the  rain  there- 
by occasioned,  should  ever  cease,  when  once  it  has  com- 
menced. Let  us  consider  these  two  points  separately. 

Rain  never  begins  to  descend  till  the  clouds  have  acquired 
a  considerable  degree  of  density.  But  your  theory  gives 


454  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

no  account  of  how  invisible  vapor  begins  originally  to  con- 
dense into  visible  vapor,  or  cloud.  If  you  say  that  con- 
densation of  invisible  vapor  begins  in  consequence  of  an 
upward  vortex  of  air,  the  query  then  is,  what  originates 
this  upward  vortex  of  air  ? l  According  to  my  notions  on 
the  subject,  the  formation  of  clouds  is  chiefly  occasioned  by 
whatever  reduces  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere ;  and 
this  may  be  produced  in  a  variety  of  ways,  such  as,  1st. 
By  the  reduction  in  the  temperature  which  takes  place  dur- 
ing the  transitions  from  day  to  night,  and  from  summer  to 
winter.8  2d.  By  the  transportation  of  air  by  means  of 
aerial  currents,  from  a  warm  towards  a  comparatively  cold 
latitude  or  locality.3  3d.  By  the  elevation  of  atmospheric 
currents  in  surmounting  hills  and  elevated  lands.4  And 
also,  as  I  hypothetically  conceive,  (though  I  am  very  doubt- 
ful of  the  truth  of  this  hypothesis,)  by  the  slow  ascension  of 


1  The  up-moving  column  of  air  may  take  its  rise  either  from  acquiring 
more  heat  or  more  vapor  than  surrounding  portions  of  the  atmosphere  ;  for  it 
is  known,  that  vapor  is  only  five-eighths  the  specific  gravity  of  air. 

2  This  cannot  be  the  cause  ;  for  we  have  in  this  climate  at  all  seasons  nu- 
merous instances  of  entirely  clear  nights  succeeding  days  with  many  clouds. 
No  phenomenon  is  more  common  than  for  clouds  to  begin  to  appear  at  eight 
or  nine,  A.  JVL,  and  increase  till  the  hottest  part  of  the  day,  and  then  grad- 
ually disappear  after  sunset.     And  in  Jamaica  this  occurs  every  day  in  the 
dry  seasons,  almost  always  producing  rain  in  the  interior  of  the  island  about 
one  or  two  o'clock. 

3  If  cloud  is  produced  in  the  first  way,  it  ought  to  be  in  contact  with  the 
ground  ;  for  it  can  only  be  chilled  by  contact.     This  undoubtedly  sometimes 
occurs,  and  fog  is  the  result.     But  I  have  constantly  observed,  that  when  a 
very  warm,  and  even  damp  atmosphere  begins  to  blow  from  the  south,  after 
a  very  cold  spell  of  weather,  when  the  ground  and  stones  of  our  pavement  are 
so  cold  as  to  condense  upon  them  a  portion  of  vapor  from  the  air,  none  of 
those  clouds  called  cumuli  are  ever  formed  5  the  reason  I  suppose  to  be,  that 
no  up-moving  columns  can  then  be  formed.     Neither  is  cloud  formed  by 
the  change  from  summer  to  winter;  for  there  is  more  rain  in  the  spring  than 
in  the  autumn. 

4  This  is  undoubtedly  one  cause  of  clouds  ;  but  unless  the  cloud  is  speci- 
fically lighter  than  the  surrounding  air,  how  are  these  currents  surmounting 
hills  produced  ? 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  455 

the  atmosphere  in  the  warmest  latitudes  of  the  earth,  dur- 
ing the  rainy  season,  in  order  to  supply  upper  currents  then 
diverging  from  these  latitudes  towards  the  north  and  south.1 
These  causes  are  assisted,  1st.  By  the  gradual  intermix- 
ture of  different  strata  of  air  when  the  upper  strata  become 
colder  and  superficially  heavier  than  those  underneath, 
after  making  the  necessary  allowance  for  the  reduction  of 
temperature,  and  diminution  in  the  specific  gravity  of  the 
aerial  strata,  which  results  on  ascending  from  the  diminish- 
ing incumbent  pressure.2  And  it  does  not  matter,  whether 

1  If  this  was  the  case,  the  whole  torrid  zone  would  be  covered  with  eternal 
cloud. 

2  If  cold  air  comes  down  from  a  height  sufficient  to  double  its  density  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  its  temperature  would  be  increased  about  ninety  degrees, 
and  it  would  be  capable  of  containing  about  eight  times  as  much  vapor  as  it 
contained  before  it  commenced  its   descent,  even  if  it  had  been   saturated  ; 
and  the  more  it  mingled  with  air  in  descending,  the  drier  it  would  make  it  — 
all  which  is  known  by  experiment.     And   if  heated  air  goes  up,  it  is  also 
known  by  experiment  that  it  will  condense  more  than  one  half  its  vapor  by 
the  cold  due  to  diminished  pressure,  before  it  reaches  sixty  hundred  yards 
high  ;  and  that  too  without  mingling  with  the  air  on  the  outside  of  the  as- 
cending column.     It  is  also  known  by  experiment,  that  the  vapor  thus  con- 
densed, if  the  dew  point  is  at  70°  Fahr.  (about  a  mean  in  our  summer  at  Phi- 
ladelphia), would  give  out  as  much  caloric  of  elasticity  into  the  air,  where 
the  cloud  was  formed,  as  would  be  given  out  by  burning  upwards  of  twelve 
thousand  tons  of  anthracite  coal  on  each  square  mile  over  which  the  cloud 
extends.     And  this  would  expand  the  air  between  six  and  seven  thousand 
cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot  of  water  generated  in  the  cloudj  after  making 
the  allowance  for  the  diminished  volume  due  to  the  condensation  of  the  vapor 
itself.     There  fell  in  twenty-two  hours,  at  Ardeche,  in  France,  thirty-one 
inches  of  rain,  and  it  may   easily  be  calculated  that  the  caloric  of  elasticity 
given  out  during  this  time  was  sufficient  to  heat  the  whole  atmosphere  over 
the  region  where  the   rain  fell  to  the  above  depth,  280°  Fahr.,  provided  no 
allowance  is  made  for  .increased  specific  caloric  of  the  air  at  great  heights. 
The  explanation  of  this  astonishing  phenomenon  is  too  plain,  according  to  my 
doctrine,  to  need  any  elucidation,  except  the  simple  statement,  that  a  cold  of 
about  90°  is  generated  in   every  portion  of  air  which  rises  high  enough  to 
become  of  half  the  density  which  it  had  at  the  surface  of  the  earth.     Nor  is  it 
difficult  to  find  a  sufficient  amount  of  vapor  to  produce  the  amazing  quantity 
of  rain,  which  fell  over  the  very  limited  region  at  Ardeche  ;  for  though   the 
whole  atmosphere,  over  the  space  where  the  rain  fell,  did  not  contain  at  any 


456  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  superior  warmth  of  the  inferior  strata  be  occasioned  by 
clouds  arresting  the  radiant  heat  passing  downwards  to- 
wards the  surface  of  the  ground  during  day,  or  passing 
upwards  from  that  surface  during  night;  or  whether  it  be 
occasioned  by  the  evolution  of  heat  which  attends  the  con- 
densation of  invisible  vapor  into  clouds  during  the  trans- 
portation of  air  from  a  warm  to  a  comparatively  cold  local- 
ity, or  any  other  cause. 

The  causes  before  mentioned  are  also  assisted,  2d.  By 
the  more  rapid  diminution  of  the  elasticity  of  aqueous  va- 
por than  that  of  air,  as  the  temperature  of  both  is  reduced 
in  ascending  perpendicularly.  This  is  unquestionably  the 
chief  cause  of  clouds  forming  at  a  considerable  altitude  in 
the  atmosphere,  rather  than  nearer  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Indeed  when  the  ocean  to  the  north  is  warmer  during  the 
depth  of  winter  than  the  incumbent  atmosphere,  and  much 
warmer  than  the  land,  evaporation  may,  and  frequently 
does,  go  on  from  the  ocean  to  such  an  extent  as  to  produce 
long  continued  rainy  and  cloudy  weather,  when  the  wind 
blows  from  a  northerly  and  cold  direction.  Our  snow  storms 
from  the  north  east  or  north  west,  and  I  apprehend  your 
snow  storms  from  the  north  east,  during  the  coldest  season 
of  the  year,  are  produced  in  this  manner.  The  moisture 
evaporated  from  the  then  warm  surface  of  the  ocean  is  con- 
densed into  clouds  as  it  rises  in  the  cold  atmosphere.  And 
this  condensation  is  promoted  by  the  farther  reduction  of 
temperature  which  it  undergoes,  in  being  transported  over 
the  cold  winter  surface  of  the  land  by  aerial  currents.  In 
the  climate  in  which  I  reside,  the  principal  cause  of  the 
formation  of  clouds  undoubtedly  is,  the  transportation  of 
air  from  a  warm  towards  a  comparatively  cold  locality  by 
means  of  aerial  currents.  But  whatever  causes  clouds  to 

one  time  one  fourth  as  much  vapor  as  would  be  required  to  make  thirty-one 
inches  of  rain,  yet  the  great  ocean  of  vapor  surrounding  the  region  in  ques- 
tion, by  flowing  in,  and  ascending  with  the  up-moving  current  of  air,  might 
easily  furnish  a  supply  to  any  amount. 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  457 

begin  to  form,  if  continued,  must  increase  their  density  un- 
til rain  is  produced. 

Again,  if  clouds  and  rain  be  produced  only  by  an  upward 
vortex  of  air,  (supplied  by  converging  currents  below  the 
clouds,  and  disposed  of  by  diverging  currents  above  them,) 
which,  according  to  your  theory,  has  the  power  of  perpetu- 
ating itself;  when  once  begun,  it  should  become  a  sort  of 
perpetual  motion,  that  could  not  by  any  possibility  come  to 
an  end.  But  instead  of  this  being  the  case,  we  find  that 
all  rains  terminate.1 

2d.  If  you  state  that  upward  vortices  must  be  occasioned 
during  day,  by  the  atmosphere  nearest  the  surface  of  the 
ground  becoming  then  much  more  heated  than  the  aerial 
strata  above,  the  following  and  similar  objections  present 
themselves  :  1st.  How  does  more  rain  fall  during  night  than 
during  day  ?  2d.  How  does  it  never  rain  in  Egypt,  where 
the  wind  blows  almost  incessantly  from  the  north,  that  is, 
from  a  cold  towards  a  comparatively  warm  climate,  and 
from  the  sea  towards  the  land?  According  to  your  theory, 
the  cold  saturated  air  from  the  Mediterranean  should  have 

1  When  a  lofty  cloud  is  once  formed,  it  certainly  has  a  self-continuing1 
power;  and  accordingly,  we  find  that  many  storms  originating  in  the  West 
Indies,  have  continued  for  many  days  and  nights  in  succession,  and  travelled 
many  thousand  miles  from  the  place  of  beginning  ;  terminating,  it  is  true,  in 
one  place,  but  continuing  to  rage  with  violence  in  another.  But  to  infer 
that  they  could  not,  by  any  possibility,  come  to  an  end,  if  they  are  really  gen- 
erated in  this  way,  is  illogical ;  for  there  may  be  many  causes  tending  to  di- 
minish and  finally  destroy  their  force. 

The  quantity  of  rain  which  comes  down  from  a  great  height  has  a  tendency, 
both  by  impulse  and  its  cooling  effect  on  the  air  below,  to  diminish  and  some- 
times stop  its  upward  motion,  and  in  the  case  of  the  rains  in  Jamaica,  in  the 
middle  of  the  day;  they  appear  to  invert  the  motion,  and  produce  a  land  breeze 
towards  evening.  And  when  the  land  breeze  commences,  the  air  over  the 
middle  of  the  island  must  come  downwards,  and  then  not  only  will  the  rain 
cease,  but  the  cloud  which  was  formed  by  the  upward  motion  will  disappear, 
as  it  comes  under  greater  pressure — as  is  demonstrated  by  experiment. 
Other  means  of  terminating  storms  were  explained  at  the  latter  end  of  the 
section  on  meteoric  rivers. 
58 


458  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

an  unusual  tendency  to  rise  in  vortices  as  it  became  heated 
in  passing  over  the  heated  sands  of  Egypt;  and  contrary 
to  what  is  the  fact,  should  there  produce  incessant  rain.1 
3d.  In  like  manner,  how  does  it  happen  that  at  Marseilles, 
during  the  depth  of  winter,  when  the  wind  shifts  from  the 
north,'  and  begins  to  blow  from  the  south,  that  is,  blows 
from  the  Mediterranean,  and  from  a  warm  towards  a  com- 

1  This  objection  seems  to  be  founded  on  an  illogical  deduction  from  my 
doctrine,  that  because  all  rains  and  snows  and  hails  are  produced  by  an  up- 
moving  current  of  air,  therefore  all  up-moving  currents  of  air  must  produce 
rains,  hails,  or  snows.  This  does  not  follow  :  for  if  any  one  will  take  the 
trouble  to  look  how  cumuli  are  formed  in  a  summer  day,  he  will  see  them 
sometimes  swelling  up  to  a  great  height,  and  then,  not  yet  having  got  dense 
enough  to  rain,  their  tops  will  be  swept  off  by  an  upper  current,  moving  in  a 
different  direction  from  themselves,  or  with  a  different  velocity  ;  and  they 
will  thus  become  spread  out  along  the  heavens,  and  their  up-moving  power 
destroyed.  Now,  when  the  north  wind  blows  in  Egypt,  the  current  below  is 
almost  diametrically  opposite  to  what  is  known  to  be  the  direction  of  the  cur- 
rent above  in  that  latitude. 

Besides,  the  current  above  contains  all  the  caloric  of  elasticity  which  was 
given  out  to  it,  during  the  great  condensation  of  the  vapor  which  produces 
the  mighty  rains  as  it  passes  over  the  mountains  in  Abyssinia :  so  that  it  will 
contain  very  much  more  caloric  to  the  pound  than  even  the  hot  air  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground  in  Egypt ;  and,  therefore,  when  the  up-moving  cur- 
rents over  that  country  rise  to  the  height  of  this  upper  current  which  is  flow- 
ing off  towards  the  north,  they  will  enter  a  medium  of  less  specific  gravity 
than  themselves,  and  on  that  account  they  will  cease  to  rise. 

Besides,  I  have  long  observed  that  if  the  dew  point  is  more  than  20°  below 
the  temperature  of  the  air,  cumuli  hardly  form,  though  the  day  is  entirely 
clear,  and  up-moving  columns  forming  as  usual.  This  circumstance  is  easily 
understood,  when  it  is  known,  as  it  is  by  experiment,  that  these  columns  cool 
about  one  degree  and  a  third  for  every  hundred  yards  that  they  ascend,  whilst 
the  strata  of  the  atmosphere  itself  are  only  one  degree  colder  for  every  hun- 
dred yards  high.  From  these  two  facts  it  follows,  that  though  the  columns 
start  upwards  by  their  specific  levity  from  greater  heat  near  the  ground,  they 
are  constantly,  in  their  ascent,  approximating  nearer  and  nearer  to  a  state  of 
equilibrium  with  the  surrounding  air  at  their  own  elevation,  and  finally  must 
cease  to  rise,  unless  they  reach  the  point  where  cloud  begins  to  form,  and  then 
as  the  law  of  cooling  is  changed  to  about  two  degrees  for  three  hundred  yards, 
the  upward  motion  will  be  continued,  unless  hindered  by  some  of  the  causes 
mentioned  above. 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  459 

paratively  cold  land  surface,  clouds  should  rapidly  begin  to 
form  and  increase  in  density  till  rain  begins  to  fall?  The 
surface  of  the  land  being  then  so  much  colder  than  the  in- 
cumbent atmosphere  brought  by  a  southerly  wind  from  the 
Mediterranean,  cannot  give  rise  to  an  upward  vortex  upon 
any  principle  that  I  can  conceive;  but,  on  the  contrary,  by 
communicating  its  coldness  to  the  incumbent  atmosphere, 
and  thereby  increasing  its  specific  gravity,  should  rather 
counteract  any  tendency  to  an  upward  vortex  of  air.1  In 
like  manner,  in  the  United  States  of  America,  where  you 
reside,  when  the  wind,  during  the  depth  of  winter,  blows 
from  an  easterly  direction,  that  is,  from  the  Atlantic,  and  a 
then  warmer  climate,  clouds  begin  rapidly  to  form  and  rain 
follows,  in  consequence  of  the  reduction  of  temperature 
which  the  comparatively  warm  atmosphere  from  the  At- 
lantic undergoes  in  being  transported  over  the  then  cold 

1  The  effect  here,  I  think,  is  put  for  the  cause,  and  if  so,  the  whole  difficulty 
vanishes.  The  blowing  of  the  south  wind  at  Marseilles  is  not  the  cause  of 
the  formation  of  cloud,  but  the  formation  of  cloud  and  the  commencement 
of  the  south  wind  are  simultaneous  effects  of  the  same  cause.  Now  this 
south  wind  will  bring  with  it  a  high  dew  point,  and,  of  course,  a  light  air, 
well  calculated  to  run  in  under  the  base  of  a  cloud  already  formed,  and  from 
the  high  steam  power  which  it  contains,  calculated  to  increase  its  power  of 
upward  motion. 

It  is  asserted  that  clouds  begin  to  form  after  the  south  wind  begins  to  blow  : 
but  if  it  should  be  discovered  hereafter  that  the  clouds  begin  to  form  at  the  same 
time,  the  whole  phenomenon  is  explained,  and  another  strong  link  is  added  to 
the  chain  of  evidence  which  is  already  formed  in  favor  of  the  law  of  storms  for 
which  I  contend.  Now  I  have  known  many  instances  of  long  continued  rains 
in  the  north,  while  there  was  a  constant  south  wind,  or  rather  west  of  south,  in 
consequence  of  oblique  forces  operating  generally  to  produce  that  effect  in  this 
latitude;  and  I  never  yet  heard  of  a  great  rain  in  the  western  part  of.  New 
York,  without  a  southern  wind  at  Philadelphia.  And  it  will  be  very  readily 
seen,  that  any  air,  however  cold,  if  it  is  near  the  borders  of  a  lofty  cloud,  will 
run  in  under  that  cloud,  and  be  forced  to  ascend,  when  it  comes  under  it,  if  a 
cloud  has  indeed  the  specific  gravity  which  I  assign  to  it :  so  that  although 
a  warm  south  wind  blowing  over  a  cold  surface  of  land  may  be  unsuited  to 
originate  an  upward  motion  of  air,  yet  it  is  well  calculated  to  continue  that 
upward  motion  after  it  is  originated. 


460  ri\        PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

surface  of  the  land.1  But  no  upward  vortices  of  air  could 
be  thereby  generated,  so  as  to  account  for  the  formation  of 
clouds  and  rain  agreeably  to  your  theory.  On  the  contrary, 
during  the  depth  of  winter,  from  Christmas  till  the  end  of 
February,  when  the  prevalent  wind  in  the  United  States  is 
from  the  west  or  north  west,  that  is,  from  a  cold  towards  a 
comparatively  warm  climate,  upward  vortices  of  air,  and 
clouds,  and  rain,  agreeably  to  your  theory,  ought  to  be  pro- 
duced; whereas,  clear,  dry,  frosty  weather  is  then  the  in- 
variable concomitant  of  such  a  wind.  Similar  observations 
are  applicable  to  the  climate  in  which  I  reside,  and  in  all 
others  in  temperate  and  cold  latitudes.  The  most  rainy 
winds  are  those  which  blow  from  a  warm  towards  a  com- 
paratively cold  climate ;  and  the  driest  winds  are  those 
which  blow  from  a  cold  towards  a  comparatively  warm 
climate.  But  the  former,  viz.  the  rainy  winds,  can  never 
originate  an  ascension  of  the  undermost  atmospheric  strata ; 
whereas,  the  latter,  upon  the  principle  of  monsoons,  and 
sea  and  land  breezes,  must  always  produce  that  tendency 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree. 
3d.  In  certain  great  rains,  mentioned  in  your  reports,  ex- 

1  The  whole  doctrine  of  our  north  east  storms  appears  to  be  entirely  mis- 
understood. During  their  entire  progress  from  the  West  Indies,  in  which 
they  frequently  originate,  to  Maine,  the  wind  does  not  blow  from  a  warmer  to 
a  colder  climate,  but  the  reverse.  When  the  storm  is  yet  in  the  West  Indies, 
the  wind  is  blowing  from  the  north ;  and  when  it  reaches  South  Carolina,  the 
wind  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  is  from  the  northr  east,  and  when  it  reaches 
Virginia,  it  is  blowing  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  and  Massachusetts, 
from  the  north  east,  and  in  Ohio,  from  the  north  west ;  and  in  the  northern 
borders  of  the  storm,  the  wind  is  most  violent  from  the  north,  and  the  quantity 
of  snow  is  the  greatest,  as  far  as  ascertained.  (116,  et  passim.)  Moreover, 
whenever  these  storms  pass  Philadelphia,  and  are  raging  in  the  north 
eastern  states,  the  wind  invariably  changes  to  some  western  point,  some- 
times to  the  north  of  west,  and  sometimes  to  the  south  of  west.  It  is  true, 
that  on  the  southern  borders  of  these  storms,  the  wind,  at  the  same  time, 
is  blow  ing  from  some  southern  direction,  and  no  doubt  contributes  much  to 
the  violence  of  the  storm,  from  the  quantity  of  steam  it  brings  to  the  focus  of 
action. 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  461 

tending  simultaneously  over  a  surface  of  many  hundred 
miles  in  diameter,  the  wind  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  over 
the  whole  extensive  tract  of  country  where  the  rain  fell,  is 
said  to  have  been  blowing  with  great,  or  considerable,  force,, 
towards  the  centre  of  where  the  rain  was  falling;  that  there 
it  fell  in  greatest  quantity ;  and  there,  and  there  only,  so  far 
as  I  understood  your  report,  the  upward  vortex  of  air  ex- 
isted. Now  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  how  any  rain  should 
have  fallen,  agreeably  to  your  theory,  beyond  the  bounda- 
ries of  your  supposed  upward  vortex  of  air.  If  clouds  and 
rain  are  produced  only  by  an  upward  vortex  of  air,  how 
did  it  happen,  on  these  occasions,  to  rain  simultaneously  for 
several  hundred  miles  east,  west,  north  and  south,  of  the 
supposed  upward  vortex  ?  ! 

4th.  If  your  theory  supposes  that  an  upward  vortex  of 
air  exists  over  the  whole  extent  of  surface  where  clouds  are 
forming,  or  rain  falling,  the  clouds,  when  viewed  from  the 
surface  of  the  ground  underneath,  should  always  be  sta- 
tionary, though  the  wind  be  blowing  underneath  with  great 
velocity,  and  in  one  determinate  direction.  Now  in  this 
country,  (and  I  suppose  it  must  also  be  the  case  in  Ameri- 
ca,) when  the  wind  blows  with  great  or  considerable  velo- 
city in  one  determinate  direction,  and  clouds  are  forming  or 
rain  falling,  the  clouds  are  always  moving  in  the  same 

1  Here  again  the  doctrine  taught  by  me  appears  to  have  been  entirely  mis- 
understood or  overlooked. 

The  doctrine  I  have  taught  in  all  my  essays  is,  that  as  soon  as  the  air 
around  a  cloud  comes  in  under  its  base,  it  is  under  less  pressure,  and  begins 
to  ascend,  not,  of  course,  perpendicularly,  but  obliquely.  It  is  only  in  the 
centre  where  the  motion  can  be  perpendicular  ;  and  so  far  from  the  greatest 
quantity  of  rain  falling  always  in  the  centre  of  the  storm,  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  the  perpendicular  velocity  of  the  air  is  so  great,  that  the  drops  of 
rain  are  not  permitted  to  fall  there,  but  are  carried  up  to  a  great  height,  and 
then  spread  outwards  towards  the  borders  of  the  storm,  and  fall  there,  where 
the  upward  motion  is  not  sufficient  to  overcome  gravity,  and  even  beyond  the 
borders  of  the  upmovmg  current  where  the  barometer  stands  above  the  mean. 


462  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

direction,  and,  as  nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  with  the  same 
velocity  as  the  air  near  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Indeed, 
I  have  never,  in  a  single  instance,  observed  clouds  remain- 
ing stationary  during  a  very  heavy  rain,  when  the  wind 
underneath  was  blowing  strongly.  Besides,  the  edges  of 
clouds  are  frequently  of  such  a  ragged  and  marked  charac- 
ter, and  retain  the  same  distinctive  configuration  for  such  a 
length  of  time,  that  if  there  was  any  rapid  upward  vortex 
of  air  underneath,  such  as  is  stated  to  be  the  case  in  your 
reports,  the  upward  movement  of  the  edges  of  the  cloud 
would  have  been  long  since  observed,  and  universally  ad- 
mitted ;  whereas,  though  horizontal  movements  of  clouds 
during  rain  are  constantly  observed  when  there  is  any 
wind,  an  upward  movement  from  underneath  never  has 
been  noticed,  and  is  not  visible,  so  far  as  I  am  aware.1 

1  In  our  great  north  east  storms,  when  they  approach  Philadelphia  from  the 
south  west,  within  three  or  four  hundred  miles,  the  wind  begins  to  blow 
from  the  north  east,  and  at  the  same  time  the  top  of  the  cloud  from  the  storm 
generally  makes  its  appearance,  coming  from  the  south  west ;  and  those  two 
currents  in  opposite  directions,  continue  for  several  hours  before  many  clouds 
form  below  —  and  even  when  they  do  begin  to  form  below,  by  the  gradual 
sloping  of  the  air  upwards,  the  upper  clouds  are  still  seen  through  the 
openings,  coming  and  thickening  from  the  south  west. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  when  the  storm  of  rain  or  snow  comes  on,  the  upper 
clouds  are  concealed  entirely  from  view,  and  the  lower  clouds,  being  in  the 
under  current,  are  seen  moving  in  the  same  direction  with  the  wind. 

Moreover,  in  violent  summer  thunder  showers,  which  are  sometimes  only 
ten  or  twelve  miles  wide,  I  have  frequently  seen  the  clouds  in  the  lower  part 
move  with  great  rapidity  towards  the  centre  of  the  cloud  from  all  sides,  and 
before  I  knew  of  the  upward  motion  of  the  air  in  the  middle,  I  have  stood 
looking  on  with  amazement,  at  not  seeing  them  overlap,  but  seem  to  lose 
themselves  in  the  centre,  and  others  succeed  in  their  turn.  But  when  I  cal- 
culated the  effect  produced  by  the  evolution  of  the  caloric  of  elasticity  which 
is  given  out  during  the  formation  of  cloud,  and  found  that  the  volume  of 
air  in  which  the  cloud  was  formed  would  be  increased  about  six  times  as  much 
by  receiving  this  caloric,  as  it  would  be  diminished  by  the  condensation  of 
the  vapor  into  water,  the  mystery  was  immediately  explained.  And  I  think 
the  reader  will  find,  that  this  single  principle,  in  connexion  with  other  laws, 
previously  well  known,  will  leave  but  few  mysteries  in  meteorology,  except 
the  luminous  meteors,  unexplained. 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  463 

5th.  If  I  recollect  right,  you  mention  in  one  of  your  re- 
ports, that  the  heat  communicated  to  the  incumbent  at- 
mosphere by  some  very  limited  combustion  underneath, 
gave  rise  to  an  upward  aerial  vortex  which  occasioned  a 
local  thunder  storm,  accompanied  with  heavy  rain.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  if  such  a  limited  cause  of  increased 
aerial  temperature  produced  the  thunder  storm  in  the  case 
referred  to,  there  would  be  an  almost  constant  upward 
aerial  vortex,  accompanied  with  thunder  and  rain,  over 
every  large  city.  London,  including  its  suburbs,  extends 
about  twelve  miles  in  length,  by  eight  in  breadth,  and  con- 
tains a  population  of  about  1,800,000.  In  calm  weather, 
particularly  during  winter,  the  increase  of  temperature 
communicated  to  the  atmosphere  by  the  combustion  of  fuel 
and  animal  respiration  over  the  central  portions  of  such  a 
large  city,  cannot  be  less  than  eight  or  ten  degrees  beyond 
that  of  the  atmosphere  in  the  surrounding  country.  But 
instead  of  an  excess  of  rain  falling  over  London,  the  annual 
amount  of  rain  there  is  only  22.2  inches,  which  is  less  than 
in  almost  any  other  part  of  England,  where  observations 
have  been  made.  The  air  in  the  central  parts  of  Glasgow 
during  calm  weather,  in  winter,  is  usually  six  or  eight  de- 
grees warmer  than  in  the  surrounding  country.  Now,  if 
this  excess  of  atmospheric  temperature  occasioned  an  up- 
ward aerial  vortex  so  as  to  produce  clouds  and  rain,  as 
should  be  the  case  if  your  theory  were  correct,  the  amount 
of  rain  that  falls  at  Glasgow  should  be  unusually  great. 
But  instead  of  this  being  the  case,  the  annual  amount  of 
rain  collected  in  the  rain  gauge  kept  at  the  JVTFarlane  Ob- 
servatory, College  Garden,  when  averaged  for  upwards  of 
thirty  years,  was  only  about  22  inches ;  whereas  the  annual 
amount  of  rain  collected  in  every  one  of  the  rain  gauges 
kept  within  a  limited  number  of  miles  of  the  city,  was  con- 
siderably greater.  The  circumstance  of  the  amount  of  rain 
collected  in  the  rain  gauge  kept  at  the  M'Farlane  Observa- 


464  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

tory  being  so  much  smaller  every  year  thari  what  was  col- 
lected in  any  other  rain  gauge  in  the  surrounding  neighbor- 
hood, attracted  so  much  attention,  that  a  committee  of 
skilful  mechanics  and  mathematicians  were  appointed  to 
examine  it.  And  they,  after  minute  examination,  reported 
that  its  construction  and  condition  was  in  every  respect 
accurate  and  perfect.1 

6th.  In  one  passage  of  the  documents  sent  me,  clouds,  so 
far  as  I  recollect,  are  stated  to  have  been  observed  eleven 
miles  high;  and  in  another  passage,  fourteen  miles  high, 
No  observations  ever  made  in  Europe,  that  I  am  aware  of, 
have  afforded  evidence  that  clouds,  even  of  the  cirous  kind, 
exist  in  the  atmosphere  above  the  elevation  of  25,000,  or 
30,000  feet,  at  most.2 

7th.  According  to  your  theory,  barometric  fluctuations 

1  I  do  not  recollect  that  I  ever  said,  in  any  of  my  writings,  that  the  heat 
communicated  to  the  incumbent  atmosphere  by  a  very  limited  combustion, 
occasioned,  by  the  upward  motion  produced  in  the  air,  a  local  thunder  storm, 
accompanied  with  heavy  rain.  But  as  it  is  my  belief  that  great  fires  under 
favorable  circumstances,  may  produce  rains,  I  may  have  said  something  like 
it.  But  as  this  is  a  mere  matter  of  opinion,  and  as  it  can  only  be  decided  by 
experiment,  which  I  hope  soon  to  try,  I  forbear  to  dwell  on  this  point.  I  am, 
however,  grossly  misinformed  if  it  does  not  rain  much  more  frequently  in  and 
about  large  manufacturing  cities  in  Europe,  especially  in  Great  Britain,  than 
in  other  parts.  It  does  not  follow,  however,  from  this,  that  there  will  be  more 
rain  in  the  city  itself  than  in  the  suburbs  or  the  adjacent  country  ;  for  the  air 
is  seldom  so  still,  that  the  column  of  cloud  which  might  be  formed  over  the 
city  by  the  upmoving  column  of  air,  would  remain  so  perpendicularly  over  the 
place  of  its  formation,  as  to  rain  down  on  the  city  itself,  as  much  as  it  will  in 
the  suburbs  and  neighboring  regions ;  and  as  the  wind  prevails  from  the  west 
in  the  British  isles,  it  is  likely  that  more  rain  would  fall  on  the  east  side  of 
these  great  manufacturing  towns  than  on  the  west.  In  accordance  with  this 
theoretical  deduction,  my  friend,  Mr.  T.  Sully,  on  his  return  from  Europe, 
told  me,  that  in  comparing  notes  with  Mr.  Leslie,  he  found  that  Mr.  Leslie 
had  many  more  favorable  days  for  painting  in  the  west  part  of  London,  than 
Mr.  Sully  had,  who  was  more  eastern,  on  account  of  the  thick  weather  and 
misty  rain,  which  prevailed  more  where  Mr.  Sully  lived.  (More  observa- 
tions on  this  point  are  much  wanted.) 

8  The  steam  power  of  the  clouds  in  the  United  States  is  much  greater  than 
it  is  in  Great  Britain. 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  465 

are  occasiqned  exclusively  by  the  same  cause  that  produces 
clouds  and  rain,  and  which  you  say  is  an  upward  vortex  of 
air,  produced  and  maintained  by  heat  evolved  during  the 
condensation  of  invisible  vapor  into  clouds.  Now  when  it 
is  considered  that  the  amount  of  rain  which  falls  in  a  given 
time,  and  the  amount  of  heat  evolved  during  its  conversion 
from  invisible  vapor  into  clouds,  decreases  from  the  equator 
to  the  poles,  your  hypothesis  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the 
fact,  that  the  range  and  fluctuations  of  the  barometer,  in- 
stead of  decreasing,  (as  would  be  the  case  if  your  hypothe- 
sis were  correct,)  rapidly  increases  from  the  equator  to 
about  the  60th  parallel  of  latitude,  and  again  decreases 
from  the  60th  parallel  as  we  advance  towards  higher  lati- 
tudes. That  this  is  the  case,  is  evident  from  the  following 
table  : l 

Mean  annual  range  of  the  barometer. 

Quito,             .  S.  lat.    0°  13  .         .    about  1  line. 

Peru,          .             .  .             .             .         5  of  an  inch. 

Calcutta,         .  .  N.  lat.  22°  35  .         .   J  of  an  inch. 

Kathmander,         .  lat.  27°  30         .        .85  an  inch. 

Capital  of  Japan,  lat.  32°  43  .         .    .85  an  inch. 

Paris,         .             .  lat.  48°  50                1|  inches. 

Great  Britain,  averaged        .  .             .2  inches. 

Petersburg,             .  lat.  59°  56        .        2\  inches. 

Melville  Island,  .         lat.  74°  30  .         .    1.86  do. 

1  According  to  my  theory,  undoubtedly  the  great  barometric  fluctuations 
are  produced  solely  by  the  caloric  of  elasticity  evolved  by  the  condensation 
of  vapor  in  storms. 

I  have  made  the  calculation  how  much  the  barometer  ought  to  fall  under  a 
cloud  of  a  given  height,  with  a  given  dew  point,  that  is,  with  a  given  steam 
power  in  the  air,  and  as  this  calculation  is  made  on  acknowledged  scientific 
principles,  it  must  stand,  unless  the  principles  themselves  fall.  The  objec- 
tions leave  this  fundamental  principle  unimpeached.  No  notice  has  been 
taken  of  it. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  my  u  doctrine  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  fact, 
that  the  range  of  the  barometric  fluctuations  rapidly  increases  from  the 
equator  to  about  the  60th  parallel  of  latitude."  And  if  this  were  really  a  fact, 
59 


466  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  such  a  thing  as  upward  vortices 
of  air,  and  gradual  ascensions  of  large  tracts  of  atmosphere 

it  would  be  fatal  to  my  doctrine,  so  far  as  the  barometer  is  concerned,  and 
then  I  would  have  to  abandon  the  whole  ground.  But  the  fact  is  not  so. 
If  the  reader  will  turn  to  Col.  Reid's  late  work  on  hurricanes,  he  will  find,  at 
page  59,  that  the  barometer  fell  at  Porto  Rico  to  28  inches,  on  the  passage  of  a 
hurricane,  and  rose  1.17  inches  in  an  hour  and  a  half.  And  at  page  269,  the 
barometer  fell  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  in  a  tremendous  hurricane,  to  27.80  — 
having  stood  at  29.70  at  the  beginning  of  the  storm.  And  at  page  271,  the 
mercury  sunk  out  of  sight  below  26.50,  having  stood  three  hours  before 
over  29  inches.  This  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hoogly  —  while  at  Calcutta, 
about  one  hundred  miles  off,  the  barometer  fell  only  three  quarters  of  an 
inch.  (150, 151.) 

Now,  as  these  great  fluctuations  occur  in  these  latitudes  only  when  a  great 
hurricane  occurs,  and  are  known  to  accompany  the  hurricane  in  its  progress, 
and  are  great  in  proportion  to  the  violence  of  the  storm,  and  are  confined  to 
the  region  of  the  storm  itself,  and  especially  as  it  is  now  known  that  the 
barometer  rises  on  the  approach  of  the  borders  of  a  storm,  it  seems  almost 
certain  that  the  cause  of  the  storm  is  the  cause  of  the  fluctuation,  unless  they 
are  related  to  each  other,  as  cause  and  effect.  (170,  Table.) 

Indeed,  if  it  is  a  fact,  (and  nothing  is  better  established)  that  the  barometer 
does  stand  low  in  the  middle  of  these  great  hurricanes,  all  the  other  phe- 
nomena connected  with  them  are  mere  corollaries.  The  wind  will  blow 
inwards  with  a  velocity  proportionate  to  the  square  root  of  the  depression  of 
the  barometer;  it  will  rise  in  the  central  parts  of  the  storm  in  a  similar  ratio, 
that  is,  with  the  velocity  of  about  240  feet  per  second  for  a  depression  of  one 
inch,  without  making  any  allowance  for  the  rise  of  the  barometer  in  an  annu- 
lus  all  round  the  storm,  in  consequence  of  the  rapid  efflux  of  air  on  all  sides 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  cloud ;  and  even  the  very  quantity  of  vapor  con- 
densed per  second  may  be  calculated,  if  the  dew  point  and  depression  of  the 
barometer  are  given ;  and  it  is  found  adequate  to  produce  those  mighty  floods 
of  rain  which  are  known  to  fall  in  these  storms.  The  quantity  of  rain  which 
sometimes  falls  in  one  of  these  hurricanes,  over  a  limited  space,  is  certainly 
as  much  as  ten  inches  ;  in  which  sufficient  caloric  of  elasticity  is  given  out  to 
heat  the  whole  of  the  air  over  this  region,  from  the  top  of  the  cloud  down  to 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  more  than  one  hundred  degrees.  But  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  every  portion  of  air  which  rises  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  to 
that  height,  undergoes  a  refrigerating  process  of  more  than  one  hundred  de- 
grees, from  diminished  pressure,  and  that  it  would  actually  become  colder  to 
that  amount,  if  it  were  not  for  the  caloric  of  elasticity  given  out  in  the  con- 
densation of  the  vapor,  which  prevents  it  from  cooling  more  than  about  half 
this  quantity,  as  I  have  demonstrated  by  experiment,  it  will  no  longer  be  a 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  467 

supplied  from  underneath,  by  aerial  currents  near  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  are  constantly  and  simultaneously  oc- 
curring on  an  immense  number  of  different  parts  of  the 
earth's  surface.  Whirlwinds  afford  examples  of  upward 
vortices  of  small  extent.  Sea  and  land  breezes,  monsoons, 
and  local  as  well  as  more  extended  winds,  blowing  from  a 
cold  towards  a  comparatively  warm  climate  or  locality,  can 
only  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  opposite  aerial  cur- 
rents simultaneously  exist  in  the  upper  and  lower  halves  of 
the  atmosphere.  The  air,  in  such  circumstances,  must  be 
gradually  descending  over  the  cold  locality  to  supply  the 
lower  current,  and  ascending  over  the  warm  locality  to  sup- 
ply the  upper  current.  But  some  of  the  facts  which  I  have 
mentioned,  such  as  the  case  of  the  north  wind  in  Egypt,  sea 
and  land  breezes  in  intertropical  climates  during  the  dry 
season,  and  the  general  fact  of  all  winds  that  blow  from  a 
cold  towards  a  warmer  locality,  being  comparatively  dry 
winds,  show  that  the  upward  ascension  of  air  is  not  the 
only  cause  of  rain.1  And  judging  from  the  facts  mentioned, 

mystery  how  so  great  a  quantity  of  vapor  is  condensed  by  cold,  in  air  which 
is  at  the  same  moment  receiving  such  an  immense  amount  of  caloric. 

1  This  conclusion  does  not  follow  from  the  premises.  It  would  be  logical 
to  say,  these  facts  show  that  an  upward  motion  of  the  air  is  not  always  a  cause 
of  rain ;  and  such  is  undoubtedly  the  fact.  I  have  myself  seen  hundreds  of 
upmoving  columns  forming  large  cumuli  without  producing  rain  ;  but  it  cer- 
tainly does  not  follow  from  that  fact,  that  cumuli  are  ever  formed  without  up- 
moving  columns. 

Flat  low  islands  in  the  West  Indies  have  sea  breezes,  and  of  course  upmov- 
ing columns  in  the  central  parts  of  them,  but  there  being  no  mountains  to 
prevent  these  columns  from  being  swept  off,  out  of  the  perpendicular,  before 
they  rise  high  enough  to  form  dense  and  deep  clouds,  rain  is  frequently  not 
the  result.  Now,  when  the  wind  blows  from  the  north  west  at.  Philadelphia, 
though  upmoving  columns  may  be  formed  in  great  numbers,  as  they  no  doubt 
are,  yet  they  do  not  rise  very  high  till  they  enter  a  current  above,  moving  in 
a  different  direction,  and  though  clouds  may  begin  to  be  formed  before  they 
enter  that  current,  yet,  when  they  do  enter  it,  the  columns  will  be  broken  and 
their  force  destroyed. 

On  the  contrary,  whenever  the  lower  current  of  the  air  is  moving  in  the 


468  PHILOSOPHY  OF   STORMS. 

and  others  of  a  similar  kind,  I  am  very  doubtful  if  an  up- 
ward vortex  of  air,  either  upon  a  limited  or  an  extended 
scale,  (except  upon  the  principle  of  intermixture,1  and  also 

same  direction  with  the  upper,  and  with  the  same  velocity,  which  can  only 
be  the  case  in  this  latitude,  when  the  wind  is  from  some  southern  or  south 
western  direction,  tfren  the  columns  can  rise  to  a  great  height  without  being 
broken,  and  this  is  one  reason  why  a  southerly  wind  is  favorable  for  rain. 
These  observations  apply  exclusively  to  the  generation  of  a  rain  cloud,  and 
not  to  the  phenomena  which  occur  after  a  great  rain  cloud  is  generated.  Af- 
ter that  is  done,  the  cloud  has  a  self-sustaining  power,  and  frequently  con- 
tinues as  violent  in  the  night  as  in  the  day,  and  if  even  it  should  be  found  to 
discharge  more  rain  in  the  night  than  in  the  day,  as  asserted  above,  it  would 
not  be  inconsistent  with  my  theory. 

1  The  doctrine  of  the  intermixture  of  airs  at  different  temperatures  pro- 
ducing rains,  will  not  bear  the  test  of  examination.  1  demonstrated,  in  the 
very  essays  here  criticised,  as  the  reader  will  see  in  the  Journal  of  the  Frank- 
lin Institute  for  1836,  that  if  the  two  halves  of  the  atmosphere,  the  upper  and 
lower,  one  at  the  temperature  of  80°  and  the  other  zero,  both  saturated  with 
vapor,  should  be  mingled  together  by  magic,  (for  they  cannot  be  mingled  by 
any  causes  in  nature,)  that  the  caloric  of  elasticity  given  out  in  one  of  our 
great  thunder  storms,  (5.1  inches  of  rain)  if  communicated  to  the  mass  of  air 
so  mingled,  would  leave  the  whole  about  20°  hotter  than  the  hottest  half  be- 
fore the  mixture.  But  why  suppose  a  mixture  in  case  of  an  upward  motion 
of  air,  as  it  is  here  supposed,  if  it  goes  up  to  where  the  barometer  would  stand 
fifteen  inches,  it  would  cool  without  mixture  at  least  85°,  as  I  have  demon- 
strated by  experiment,  if  no  allowance  is  made  for  the  caloric  of  elasticity 
given  out  by  the  condensing  vapor. 

And  if  any  one  will  carefully  watch  a  cumulus  cloud  while  forming  into 
a  nimbus,  if  he  is  properly  situated  for  seeing  the  whole  phenomena,  he  will 
observe  a  wonderful  stillness  in  the  borders  of  the  cloud,  while  it  is  puffing 
out  at  the  top,  as  if  it  were  tl  blown  into  below  by  a  pair  of  great  bellows."  (70.) 

He  will  see  the  lower  part  of  the  cloud  much  agitated,  and  flocculi  darting 
in  from  the  borders  towards  the  centre,  and  finally,  small  clumps  of  clouds 
suddenly  forming  some  distance  below  the  black  base,  and  darting  up  into 
that  base,  "  like  sky  rockets;"  in  short,  the  whole  phenomena  corresponding 
precisely  with  the  supposition  of  an  upward  motion  of  the  air,  both  below  and 
above  the  base  of  the  cloud.  If  this  cloud  is  formed  from  the  mixture  of  aiis 
of  different  temperature,  which  I  have  shown  could  not  be,  on  other  grounds, 
I  think  it  is  certain  that  it  could  not  assume  the  present  form.  If  it  were 
formed  of  strata  of  air,  one  over  the  other,  and  moving  in  different  directions, 
so  as  to  mingle  between  them  and  produce  cloud,  then  the  cloud  would  have 
a  flat  appearance,  and  could  not  possibly  rise  into  a  pyramid  of  six  or  eight 
miles  in  height,  in  a  very  short  space  of  time,  in  regular  form. 


HUTCHISON'S  OBJECTIONS,  WITH  REPLIES.  469 

when  the  atmospheric  current  rises  in  surmounting  hills,) 
is  ever,  in  any  instance,  a  cause  of  the  formation  of  clouds, 
or  of  the  descent  of  rain,  in  temperate  or  cold  latitudes. 
And  from  comparing  the  extreme  smallness  of  the  fluctua- 
tions and  range  of  the  barometer  in  intertropical  climates, 
where  the  rains  are  heaviest,  with  its  great  fluctuations  and 
range  in  temperate  latitudes,  where  the  amount  of  rain  is 
comparatively  very  small,  it  is  obvious,  that  if  clouds  and 
rain  be  occasioned  by  upward  vortices  of  air,  barometric 
fluctuations  must  be  either  wholly  occasioned,  or  at  all 
events  much  assisted,  by  some  other  cause. 

If  it  was  formed  either  by  an  upmoving  column  of  warm  air,  or  by  a  down- 
moving  column  of  cold  air,  mingling  with  the  air  through  which  it  passed, 
then  would  the  cloud  appear  something  in  the  form  of  a  hollow  cylinder,  for 
the  central  parts  of  the  ascending  or  descending  column  could  not  mingle 
with  the  surrounding  air.  Now,  the  central  parts  of  the  cloud  seem  to  be 
much  the  densest,  if  we  can  form  any  judgment  from  the  blackness  of  the 
base,  just  as  it  should  be  on  my  principle,  but  not  at  all  on  the  Huttonian.  It 
will  not  surely  be  contended  that  air  can  be  mingled  to  any  extent  sufficient 
to  produce  large  clouds  by  different  currents  meeting  each  other  on  the  same 
horizontal  level,  and  even  if  it  should,  it  could  not  be  imagined  how  a  cloud 
in  the  shape  of  a  sugar  loaf  could  be  formed  on  this  principle,  with  a  flat 
base  always  just  about  as  many  hundred  yards  high  as  the  temperature  of  the 
air  is  above  the  dew  point  in  degrees  of  Fahr.  at  the  time  the  cloud  is  forming, 
which  exactly  corresponds  with  the  height  of  the  base,  on  the  supposition  that 
the  air  does  move  up  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  into  the  base  of  the  cloud. 
Besides,  if  it  should  be  found,  as  is  highly  probable,  that  the  upper  portions 
of  the  atmosphere  always  contain  more  caloric  to  the  pound  than  the  lower, 
from  the  caloric  given  out  there  by  the  vapor  condensing  into  cloud,  the 
doctrine  of  mixture  forming  a  cloud,  would  have  to  be  given  up  on  this 
ground  alone. 

I  have  now  attempted  to  answer  all  the  objections  which  have  been  brought 
against  my  theory  by  a  gentleman  of  highly  cultivated  and  acute  mind,  one  who 
has  himself  written  one  of  the  best  treatises  on  meteorology  extant,  and  also 
a  very  late  work  on  Unexplained  Phenomena,  which  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
manifests  great  originality  and  power  of  thought,  though  I  am  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  subscribe  to  all  his  views. 

If  I  have  not  been  entirely  successful  in  answering,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  candid  reader,  all  the  objections,  I  think  it  will  be  but  fair  to  set  down 
the  failure,  not  to  the  weakness  of  the  theory,  but  to  the  want  of  skill  in  the 


.470  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  preceding  remarks  are  penned  in  a  spirit  of  perfect 
candor  and  impartiality,  and  I  hope  you  will  receive  them 
in  a  similar  spirit.  They  will  point  out  the  objections  to 

advocate.  Indeed,  I  doubt  not  that  the  intelligent  reader  who  has  made  him- 
self thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  theory,  will  see  that  many  points  could 
be  much  more  clearly  elucidated.  If,  indeed,  I  had  not  been  able  to  answer 
any  one  of  the  objections,  the  theory  might  still  be  true,  for  the  foundation  of 
it  is  not  shaken  by  any  one  of  them. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  I  had  not  been  able  to  show  that  the  barometer  does 
actually  fall  in  the  torrid  zone,  on  the  passage  of  a  hurricane,  it  would  not 
prove  my  theory  untrue,  because  it  might  have  so  happened  that  no  barom- 
etrical observations  had  ever  been  recorded  in  the  midst  of  the  storm.  If, 
indeed,  it  had  been  established  by  well-authenticated  observations,  that  the 
barometer  does  not  fall  in  the  middle  of  a  hurricane,  I  would  have  to  acknow- 
ledge it  to  be  the  experimentum  crusis  to  disprove  my  theory.  But  this  fact 
never  will  be  established.  For  so  long  as  the  laws  of  gravity  remain  un- 
changed, the  barometer  will  fall  when  pressed  by  Jess  incumbent  weight ; 
and  as  long  as  the  relation  between  the  caloric  of  elasticity  of  vapor  and  the 
specific  caloric  of  atmospheric  air,  remains  unchanged,  this  caloric  will  ex- 
pand the  air  in  contact  with  the  condensing  vapor,  in  the  formation  of  cloud, 
upwards  of  six  thousand  cubic  feet  for  every  cubic  foot  of  water  thus  genera- 
ted, after  making  allowance  for  the  condensation  of  the  vapor  itself;  as  I 
have  demonstrated  by  experiment,  independent  of  the  chemical  principles  on 
which  the  calculation  was  originally  made.  (65.) 

I  thank  the  author  of  these  able  strictures  for  the  candid  manner  in  which 
they  were  made.  If  my  theory  is  true,  it  will  bear  the  test  of  the  severest 
examination,  which  I  invoke  from  other  minds  of  equal  acuteness.  If  it  is 
false,  no  one  is  more  interested  than  myself  that  it  should  be  speedily  refuted. 
But  in  this  inquiring  age,  when  men  will  think  for  themselves,  neither  the 
hasty  and  unpremeditated  opinion  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  philoso- 
phers of  Europe,  that  Mr.  Espy's  theory  could  not  be  true,  for  it  requires  the 
barometer  to  stand  high  in  the  middle  of  hurricanes,  nor  the  deliberate  and 
long-cherished  opinion  of  a  distinguished  chemist  of  America,  of  whose  dis- 
coveries his  country  is  justly  proud,  that  Mr.  Espy's  theory  is  suicidal,  re- 
quiring the  air  to  be  colder,  to  condense  the  vapor,  and  at  the  same  time 
warmer,  to  produce  an  ascending  motion,  will  satisfy  the  mind  of  any  one 
who  chooses  to  investigate  the  subject  thoroughly  j  for  he  will  perceive,  that 
neither  of  these  conclusions  follows  from  the  doctrine  which  I  teach. 

The  foundation  on  which  I  build  must  be  sapped,  before  the  superstructure 
can  be  overthrown.  Let  any  one  try  the  following  experiment,  and  he  will 
be  able  to  tell  whether  my  corner-stone  is  firmly  laid  or  not?  Try  how  much 
the  temperature  of  both  dry  air,  and  air  saturated  with  aqueous  vapor,  is  re- 


HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  471 

your  theory  which  most  readily  suggest  themselves  to  the 
mind  of  an  impartial  reader.  If  your  theory  be  true,  you 
will  be  thereby  enabled  to  know  what  points  require  further 
elucidation,  and  also  what  objections  ought  to  have  been 
anticipated  and  answered, — an  object  which,  in  advancing 
a  new  theory  that  has  to  contend  with  preexisting  opinions, 
ought  never  to  be  lost  sight  of. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

GRAHAM   HUTCHISON. 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  llth  October,  1S38. 


Objections  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  of  Manchester,  England. 

A  converzatione  was  held  on  the  4th  inst.,  at  which  the 
subject  was,  "  Meteorological  facts  relating  to  the  great 
storm  of  January,  1839,"  by  Mr.  Hopkins.  In  the  discourse 
delivered  by  that  gentleman,  it  was  stated,  that  little  was 
at  present  known  respecting  those  local  movements  of  the 
atmosphere  which  constitute  our  storms.  Notwithstanding 
the  advance  that  has  been  made  in  other  branches  of  know- 
ledge, and  the  high  degree  of  interest  that  has  always  been 
felt  by  mankind  in  those  sublime  and  often  destructive  phe- 
nomena of  nature,  our  knowledge  of  the  particular  local 
causes  which  produce  storms  is  not  much  greater  than  that 
possessed  by  man  thousands  of  years  ago.  It  is,  indeed, 
only  when  storms  do  great  damage,  and  thus  excite  public 
interest,  that  we  can  at  all  collect  facts  from  a  sufficient 
number  of  places,  to  enable  us  to  take  any  general  view  of 
what  has  been  going  on  in  the  atmosphere  at  the  time. 

duced  in  temperature  by  a  given  diminution  of  pressure,  and  if  he  finds,  at 
ordinary  summer  temperatures,  the  moist  air  reduced  only  about  one  half  that 
of  dry  air,  as  I  have  found  it,  he  will,  by  careful  examination,  be  able  to  per- 
ceive, that  all  the  doctrines  which  I  teach  on  this  subject,  follow  as  corolla- 
ries from  this  single  fact,  in  connection  with  other  facts  heretofore  estab- 
lished. 


472  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

The  narrations,  however,  generally  consist  of  instances  of 
destruction  of  property  and  life,  and  it  is  only  incidentally 
that  instructive  meteorological  facts  are  named.  But  such 
accounts  are  nearly  all  that  we  have  to  rely  upon ;  and  we 
have,  therefore,  only  to  make  the  best  use  we  can  of  them. 
The  great  storm  of  January,  1839,  to  which  attention  would 
be  more  particularly  drawn,  was  so  exceedingly  violent, 
and  caused  the  destruction  of  so  much  property  both  on  sea 
and  land,  and  the  loss  of  so  great  a  number  of  lives,  as  to 
cause  an  unusual  number  of  accounts  respecting  it  to  be 
published  all  over  those  parts  of  the  country  where  it  raged. 
It  is,  consequently,  more  worthy  of  attention  than  any  other 
that  has  occurred  in  this  part  of  the  world  for  a  long  time 
past. 

In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  it  cannot  be  said 
there  is  any  established  or  generally  recognised  theory  of 
storms.  It  has,  for  a  considerable  time,  been  considered 
that  they  were  connected  with  an  intermixture  of  the  gene- 
ral atmospheric  currents ;  but  in  what  way  that  intermix- 
ture was  effected  was  not  known.  Recently,  Mr.  Redfield, 
in  America,  and  Colonel  Reid,  in  this  country,  have  attempt- 
ed to  show,  that  all  great  storms  are  whirlwinds,  and  they 
give  facts  to  support  their  theory;  but  they  do  not  attempt 
to  show  how  the  storms  originate.  Mr.  Espy,  of  Philadel- 
phia, lately  explained  in  this  room,  and  still  more  recently 
at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Glasgow,  a  new 
theory  which  he  has  advanced.  This  theory  is,  that,  from 
certain  causes,  which  he  explained,  the  lower  part  of  the 
atmosphere,  in  particular  places,  moves  upwards,  leaving 
an  approach  to  a  vacuum  in  those  places,  which  causes  the 
adjoining  lower  portions  of  the  atmosphere  to  rush  in  from 
all  around,  thus  forming  converging  streams  rushing  to- 
wards a  centre.  These  streams  (as  he  represents),  when 
they  arrive  at  the  central  space,  rush  upwards ;  and  this 
process  continues  while  the  storm  lasts.  Mr.  Espy  exhibit- 


MR.  HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  473 

ed  a  map  of  the  British  Islands,  marked  with  arrows,  to 
show  the  direction  of  the  wind  at  the  time  of  the  storm  of 
January;  and  he  maintained  that  the  phenomena  attending 
that  storm  harmonized  with,  and  confirmed  the  correctness 
of,  his  theory.  That  gentleman  also  spoke  of  a  number  of 
other  storms  which  had  occurred  in  America,  the  phenom- 
ena of  which,  he  also  said,  were  in  accordance  with  that 
theory.  It  became,  therefore,  desirable  to  inquire  into  the 
meteorological  facts  observed  in  the  British  storm,  as  they 
were  within  our  reach,  not  only  on  account  of  the  intrinsic 
interest  that  might  attach  to  them,  but  as  bearing  upon,  and 
to  a  certain  extent,  testing,  Mr.  Espy's  theory.  This  inquiry 
would  also  enable  us  to  judge,  to  some  extent,  how  far  his 
mind  was  liable  to  be  biased,  by  his  theoretical  opinions,  in 
his  selection  of  facts.  For  it  should  be  recollected,  that  the 
accounts  that  may  be  had  recourse  to  were  numerous,  and, 
generally,  very  vague,  and  the  inquirer  had  to  make  his  se- 
lection from  amongst  them.  Now  he  would  be  naturally 
inclined  to  think  that  account  the  most  clear  and  reasonable 
that  accorded  the  nearest  with  his  preconceived  opinions;' 
while  accounts  that  militate  against  those  opinions  would 
be  liable  to  be  put  aside,  as  inconsistent  with  the  supposed 
laws  and  general  operations  of  nature.  Thus,  in  extracting 
what  would  be  called  an  intelligible  account  from  various 
obscure  sources,  that  account  would  be  unconsciously  mould- 
ed to  suit  the  views  of  the  party  who  made  it  out.  We  had 
no  ready  means  of  comparing  Mr.  Espy's  accounts  of  storms 
in  America  with  facts  respecting  them  derived  from  other 
sources;  but  it  would  be  not  unfair  to  presume,  that  the 
same  degree  of  bias,  or  of  caution  in  avoiding  it,  existed  in 
drawing  up  accounts  of  those  storms,  as  might  be  traced  in 
his  account  of  the  British  storm.  That,  the  inquiry  might 
be  influenced  as  little  as  possible  by  a  bias  of  this  kind,  he 
(Mr.  Hopkins)  proposed  to  confine  it  to  the  facts  given  in  a 
pamphlet  published  shortly  after  the  occurrence  of  the  storm 
60 


474  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

by  Mr.  E.  Smith,  of  Liverpool,  in  which  were  given  one 
hundred  and  forty-one  accounts,  taken  from  the  local  news- 
papers in  various  parts  of  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  England. 
The  objects  of  the  narrators  of  these  facts  were  to  give  ac- 
counts of  the  damage  done  by  the  storm,  and  it  was  only 
incidentally  that  they  give  meteorological  facts.  When 
they  did  give  them,  they  are  brief,  and  somewhat  meagre 
and  obscure;  but  they  were  unprejudiced,  and  so  far  worthy 
of  confidence.  That  there  might  be  no  unfair  selection  of 
these  facts,  it  was  proposed  to  give  all  that  the  book  con- 
tained that  were  intelligible.  But,  before  going  into  these 
facts,  it  might  be  well  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  recognised 
laws  of  nature  which  governed  and  determined  the  great 
general  movements  of  the  atmosphere.  Dr.  Dalton  had 
made  us  pretty  fully  acquainted  with  the  nature  and  pro- 
perties of  those  aeriform  fluids  which  constituted  our  atmos- 
phere, and  he  also  explained  the  true  causes  which  deter- 
mined the  motions  of  the  two  great  atmospheric  currents 
which  flowed  from  the  equater  to  the  pole,  and  back  again 
from  the  pole  to  the  equator;  but  it  was  afterwards  found, 
that  Hadley  had  long  previously  made  the  same  discovery, 
although  it  was  not  generally  known.  [Hadley's  theory  was 
here  explained,  with  the  assistance  of  a  terrestrial  globe 
and  a  diagram.]  But,  though  the  theory  first  made  known 
by  Hadley  was  generally,  it  was  not  universally  true.  The 
south  west  was  not  always  the  upper,  and  the  north  east 
the  lower  atmospheric  current  in  the  northern  hemisphere. 
In  this  part  of  the  world,  the  south  west  is  the  prevalent 
wind  in  autumn,  and  the  north  east  prevails  in  March.  In 
January,  that  is  at  the  time  when  our  storm  occurred,  we 
have  fluctuations  between  the  south  west  and  north  east 
currents,  sometimes  the  one  and  sometimes  the  other  pre- 
vailing. On  the  night  of  Sunday,  January  6th,  1839,  the 
storm  more  particularly  under  consideration  began  its  rav- 
ages ;  and  Mr.  Espy  confined  his  remarks  to,  and  arrowed 


MR.  HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  475 

his  map  for,  the  time  between  ten  and  twelve  o'clock  at 
night.  Now,  supposing  for  a  moment  Mr.  Espy's  theory  to 
be  correct,  and  supposing  also  that  the  storm  came  from  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  it  would  follow  that  the  storm  ought  to 
have  been  first  felt  with  the  wind  blowing  towards  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  from  every  part  of  the  British  islands ;  but 
nothing  of  the  kind  was  experienced.  Mr.  Espy  said  the 
storm  moved  from  the  south  west  coast  of  Ireland,  to  the 
north  east  coast  of  Scotland.  If  it  did  so,  at  its  commence- 
ment, a  north  east  wind  should  have  blown  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Shannon,  and  the  same  north  east  wind  should  have  been 
found  blowing  progressively  along  the  line  extending  by  Lim- 
erick, Belfast  and  Glasgow.  But  no  indication  was  given,  in 
any  of  the  accounts,  of  such  a  wind  havingbeen  felt.  The  fol- 
lowing were  accounts  of  the  weather  a  little  before  and  up 
to  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  storm:  — 

Limerick.  It  was  hoped  the  storm  would  have  expended 
its  worst  rage  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  abate  with  the  fall- 
ing water,  as  high  tide  came  up  to  ten  o'clock  on  Sunday 
night;  but,  contrary  to  expectation,  the  gale  held  on  with 
additional  fury. 

Kilbeggan.  At  about  a  quarter  past  eleven  on  Sunday 
night,  the  hurricane  commenced  here ;  there  was  at  first,  a 
rumbling  noise  like  thunder  heard,  which  was  followed  by 
a  rushing  blast  of  wind,  which  swept  across  the  town  like 
a  tornado. 

Belfast.  On  Saturday  night,  after  a  slight  fall  of  snow, 
the  ground  was  covered  on  Sunday  morning  with  a  dark 
dense  frost,  which  about  noon  on  Sunday,  began  to  resolve 
itself  into  rain ;  and  this  most  uncomfortable  change  of 
weather  continued  until  about  one  o'clock  next  morning. 

Isle  of  Man.  On  Sunday  night  last,  after  a  day  com- 
paratively mild  for  the  season  of  the  year,  this  town  (Doug- 
las), and  indeed  the  whole  Island,  was  visited  by  one  of  the 
most  terrific  storms  of  wind  that  can  be  imagined. 


476  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

Dumfries.  Since  Friday,  we  have  had  every  variety  of 
weather, — frost,  snow,  rain,  flood;  but  these  were  very 
bearable  alternations,  compared  with  the  truly  awful  tem- 
pest that  followed.  The  storm  commenced  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night. 

Glasgow.  So  heavy  was  the  fall  of  snow  between  Sat- 
urday and  Sunday  morning,  that  the  streets  were  covered 
a  foot  in  depth.  During  the  day  on  Sunday,  there  was  an 
apparent  intermission.  The  wind  subsided  for  a  few  hours ; 
but  still  the  atmosphere  boded  evil,  and  by  ten  at  night,  the 
elements  were  again  in  frightful  commotion. 

Liverpool.  The  weather  was,  for  some  days  previous  to, 
and  on  Sunday  last,  somewhat  boisterous,  though  not  more 
so  than  might  be  expected  at  this  season  of  the  year.  The 
wind  during  the  day  had  been  about  S.  S.  E.,  and  rather 
strong.  About  ten  o'clock,  P.  M.,  it  died  away  for  a  short 
time,  and  the  atmosphere  suddenly  became  unexpectedly 
mild  and  warm.  In  a  few  minutes,  it  began  to  blow  with 
alarming  gusts  from  the  south  west  and  W.  S.  W.  The 
Mercury  says,  "  during  the  whole  of  Sunday,  the  wind 
blew  strongly  from  the  S.  S.  E.,  and  the  glass  fell  consider- 
ably ;  but  many  vessels  commanded  by  experienced  cap- 
tains, went  to  sea,  and  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  the 
frightful  storm  that  followed."  Accounts  from  those  who 
went  to  sea,  substantially  agree  with  the  following. 

Manchester.  On  Sunday  morning,  the  weather  was 
frosty,  with  a  slight  fall  of  snow.  At  "noon,  the  frost  dis- 
appeared ;  and  during  the  afternoon  and  evening,  there 
were  occasional  showers  of  rain,  with  a  steady  wind  at 
S.  S.  E.,  but  there  was  no  indication  of  an  approaching 
storm. 

Shreicsbury.  Sunday  was  gloomy  ;  a  fall  of  snow  took 
place  about  noon,  which  was  followed  by  several  squalls  of 
wind  and  rain.  About  eleven  at  night,  the  storm  com- 
menced. 


MR.  HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  477 

Huddersfield.  On  Sunday  evening,  the  weather  glass 
gave  palpable  indications  of  a  great  change  in  the  atmos- 
phere, which  was  also  manifest  by  the  rain  and  sleet  that 
fell. 

Holmfirth.  On  Sunday  evening,  a  brisk  gale  blew  from 
the  south  west,  which  continued  to  rise  until  Monday  morn- 
ing, when  it  became  a  complete  hurricane. 

Bradford.  On  Sunday,  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow, 
accompanied  by  occasional  gusts  of  wind  ;  and  about  six, 
a  rapid  thaw  set  in,  attended  with  heavy  rain.  This  was 
succeeded  about  two  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  by  a  high 
wind,  which  gradually  increased  in  violence  till  about  five 
o'clock. 

Now  in  none  of  these  accounts  do  we  find  that  a  north 
east  wind  was  the  herald  of  the  coming  storm.  The  direc- 
tion of  the  storm,  according  to  Mr.  Espy,  was  from  the 
south  west;  and  his  theory  requires,  that  a  wind  should 
meet  it,  and  blow  from  the  north  east,  as  well  as  from  all 
other  points  of  the  compass.  The  extracts  given,  show 
that  no  such  wind  blew.  We  will  now  see  what  accounts 
are  given  from  the  same  sources  of  the  storm  itself,  from 
the  commencement  to  the  conclusion. 

Kilrush.  For  many  years  this  coast  has  not  been  visited 
by  so  severe  a  storm  as  that  of  Sunday  night.  From  the 
evidence  at  an  inquest,  it  appeared  that  the  Undine  schooner 
of  Limerick,  broke  from  her  moorings  in  Scattery  Roads, 
about  ten  o'clock  on  Sunday  night,  and  was  driven  on  shore 
at  Corhadota. 

Cork.  We  were  visited  on  Sunday  night,  by  one  of  the 
most  tremendous  gales  of  wind  ever  remembered  here.  It 
commenced  to  blow  hard  at  eight  o'clock,  from  W.  S.  W. ; 
but  at  half  past  eleven,  the  storm  assumed  a  strength  and 
fury  almost  irresistible,  and  continued  with  unabated  vio- 


478  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

lence  until  six  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  when  it  consid- 
erably lulled. 

Kingscourt.  It  commenced  here  at  eleven,  last  night, 
(Sunday,)  and  continued  with  unabated  fury,  until  seven, 
this  morning. 

Dublin.  We  were  visited  on  Sunday  night,  with  the 
most  terrific  storm  we  ever  remember  to  have  experienced. 
The  violence  of  the  wind  far  exceeded  any  thing  that  usu- 
ally occurs  in  these  regions.  There  was  but  little  rain,  and 
no  thunder  or  lightning ;  nothing,  indeed,  but  the  wind 
blowing  tremendously  and  furiously,  and  continuously,  from 
midnight  till  after  five  o'clock,  on  Monday,  morning.  It 
began  slightly  at  about  seven,  in  the  evening,  and  rose  grad- 
ually till  twelve,  when  it  came  to  its  height.  A  more  aw- 
ful night  we  have  scarcely  ever  past. 

Belfast.  A  previous  frost  about  noon,  on  Sunday,  began 
to  resolve  itself  into  rain,  and  this  continued  until  about 
one  o'clock,  next  morning,  when  it  was  succeeded  by  a  per- 
fect hurricane.  The  wind,  in  the  first  symptoms  of  its  vio- 
lence, blew  from  W.  N.  W. ;  but,  as  its  rage  increased,  it 
shifted  from  west  to  west  by  north,  and  augmented  in  force 
till  finally  it  settled  due  south  west. 

There  is  no  storm  from  the  north  east,  mentioned  in  these 
accounts. 

The  Meteor  Steamer,  from  Dublin.  On  the  evening  of 
the  6th,  (Sunday,)  we  had  reached  as  far  as  the  Skerries  ; 
the  wind  drawing  round  strong  to  the  south  west,  and  mak- 
ing little  progress.  At  two,  in  the  morning  of  the  7th,  the 
wind  had  veered  to  west,  blowing  a  perfect  hurricane. 

Dumfries.  The  storm  commenced  at  ten  o'clock,  on 
Sunday  night,  and  at  that  time  the  wind  was  as  near  as 
may  be  due  south.  But  shortly  after  one  o'clock,  on  Mon- 
day morning,  it  got  round  to  the  west,  and,  however  alarm- 


MR.  HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  479 

ing  the  gales  were  previously,  they  from  that  time  blew 
with  tenfold  fury. 

Glasgow.  The  wind  subsided  for  a  few  hours  in  the 
evening ;  but  by  ten  at  night,  the  elements  were  again  in 
frightful  commotion. 

Edinburgh.  The  hurricane  was  severe,  the  wind  blow- 
ing with  such  awful  fury  as  to  cause  a  sensible  vibration  of 
many  of  our  largest  houses;  but  the  damage  sustained  is 
trifling  compared  with  that  of  other  places. 

No  easterly  storm  in  Scotland. 

London.  Notwithstanding  the  tremendous  gale  which 
commenced  about  eleven  o'clock  on  Sunday  night,  and 
which  raged  furiously  until  five  o'clock  yesterday  morning, 
when  it  moderated,  the  shipping  on  the  river  sustained  but 
little  damage. 

Birmingham.  In  this  neighborhood,  the  hurricane  com- 
menced about  eleven  o'clock  on  Sunday  night,  and  con- 
tinued its  devastations  until  daylight  the  following  morning. 
The  wind  was  chiefly  north  west,  but  veered  considerably 
during  the  night. 

Shrewsbury.  About  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  (Sunday,) 
the  storm  commenced,  and  continued  roaring  with  increased 
violence  from  the  west  and  south  west  until  eight,  A.  M., 
on  Monday,  shaking  by  its  force  the  strongest  habitations, 
and  making  the  stoutest  heart  tremble. 

Liverpool.  A  storm  the  most  awful — whether  we  con- 
sider the  violence  of  the  gale,  its  continuance,  the  amount 
of  property  damaged  or  destroyed,  or  the  loss  of  human  life 
with  which  it  was  attended — that  has  taken  place  in  this 
town,  perhaps  we  may  say  in  the  country,  for  very  many 
years,  commenced  on  Sunday  night  last,  and  continued  with 
little  intermission  till  the  following  afternoon.  The  wind 
was  from  the  south  west  and  west  south  west. 

Manchester.    Soon  after  twelve  o'clock,  the  wind  began 


480  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

to  freshen  very  rapidly,  veering  about  from  south  east  to 
south  west,  and  blowing  in  gusts  which  rapidly  increased 
in  violence  until  about  half  past  two,  when  it  blew  a  most 
violent  gale ;  and  its  effects  began  to  be  apparent  in  the 
falling  of  chimneys  and  the  unroofing  of  houses.  A  little 
after  three,  it  somewhat  abated;  and  many  persons  flat- 
tered themselves  that  its  extreme  violence  had  passed  away. 
This  hope,  however,  was  in  vain  ;  for  about  four,  the  storm 
again  began  to  rage ;  and  from  that  time  until  about  half 
past  seven,  it  resembled  one  of  those  awful  atmospheric  con- 
vulsions, which  are  the  scourge  of  tropical  climates,  rather 
than  one  of  the  storms  of  a  northern  latitude.  The  storm 
seems  to  have  raged  with  the  greatest  fury  between  five  and 
six  o'clock. 

Halifax.  Shortly  after  midnight,  on  Sunday,  the  wind 
began  to  blow  with  more  than  ordinary  violence,  and 
rapidly  increased  to  a  hurricane,  which  continued  until 
daylight. 

Leeds.  The  storm  commenced  about  midnight ;  and  from 
that  period  till  the  following  afternoon,  the  most  terrific 
gale  of  wind  we  ever  remember  to  have  known,  was  ex- 
perienced. 

Lincoln.  At  midnight  it  freshened,  and  about  three  there 
was  a  roaring  hurricane. 

Boston.  From  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
three  in  the  afternoon,  the  wind  blew  a  perfect  hurricane. 

Knaresborou gh.  It  commenced  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  continued  till  near  the  evening  with  little 
abatement. 

Whitehaven.  At  this  place,  it  commenced  about  two,  A.  M., 
on  Monday,  to  blow  a  hurricane  from  south  west  to  west, 
and  shifted  to  north  west. 

York.  This  morning  (Monday)  a  gale  sprung  up  be- 
tween three  and  four  o'clock,  from  the  north  west,  which 
increased  in  a  fearful  manner  until  six  o'clock,  threatening 


HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  481 

the  most  fearful  damage  and  loss  both  to  life  and  property. 
The  strong  outer  wall  of  the  house  of  correction  in  this  city 
was  blown  down. 

In  the  whole  of  these  extracts  we  find  no  trace  of  a  north 
east  wind.  The  greatest  violence  of  the  storm  seems  to 
have  been  from  the  western  coast  of  Ireland,  across  the 
Irish  sea,  Lancashire,  and  Yorkshire.  In  Scotland,  its  vio- 
lence does  not  appear  to  have  extended  much  north  of 
Edinburgh,  where  it  was  comparatively  moderate.  In  Lon- 
don again  it  was  quite  moderate,  compared  with  what  it 
was  two  hundred  miles  further  north.  But  the  course,  as 
well  as  the  force,  of  this  storm  is  particularly  marked  by 
certain  facts  given  in  these  accounts.  From  Liverpool, 
across  the  island  to  the  German  ocean,  the  spray  of  the  sea 
was  carried  so  abundantly  as  to  leave  a  large  deposit  of  sea 
salt  on  objects  exposed  to  it.  It  is  stated  that  at  St.  Helens, 
Manchester,  Rochdale,  and  Huddersfield,  the  incrustation 
was  considerable ;  and  the  following  account  is  given  from 
Alford,  in  Lincolnshire,  a  place  near  to  the  German  ocean :  — 

Not  within  the  memory  of  the  oldest  person  has  this 
place  (Alford)  been  visited  with  such  a  tremendous  gale  as 
set  in  from  the  west  on  Tuesday  morning,  the  8th  inst, 
(quaere,  Monday,  the  7th,)  about  three  o'clock,  and  con- 
tinued unabated  till  eleven  at  night.  Every  tree  and  hedge 
in  bleak  situations  were  incrusted  over,  like  a  hoar  frost, 
with  a  powerful  alkali,  which  an  eminent  chemist  pro- 
nounced to  be  muriate  of  soda.  Several  times  something 
has  been  observed  within  seven  or  eight  miles  of  the  Ger- 
man ocean,  when  the  wind  has  blown  from  the  east,  and  it 
was  supposed  the  wind  absorbed  it  from  the  vapors  of  the 
sea  ;  but  the  wind  now  having  blown  from  the  west,  if  such 
was  the  case,  it  must  have  been  conveyed  completely  across 
the  island  from  the  Irish  sea.  It  appeared  that  the  greater 

61 


482  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

the  elevation,  the  greater  was  the  deposit,  which  was  clearly- 
confined  to  the  bleak  side. 

But  we  have  equally  strong  evidence  of  the  force  and  di- 
rection of  the  wind,  in  the  effect  produced  on  the  tides,  as 
shown  by  the  following  extracts  :  — 

Whitehaven.     The  tide  rose  double  its  calculated  height. 

Dumfries.  The  tide  on  Sunday  rose  to  an  unusual 
height  long  before  the  storm  began ;  and  from  this  circum- 
stance, combined  with  the  extraordinary  oscillations  of  the 
barometer,  we  infer  that  the  aerial  influences  have  been  at 
work,  with  the  laws  of  which  we  are  but  little  acquainted. 

Warrington.  On  Monday  morning,  the  tide  at  the  bridge 
rose  more  than  twelve  feet  above  its  ordinary  height. 

Goole.  The  tide,  which  would  have  flowed  nine  or  ten 
feet,  had  there  been  no  west  wind,  did  not  flow  an  inch,  — 
it  was  falling  water  all  day. 

Here  we  see  that  the  wind  blew  the  water  upon  the 
western  coast,  but  away  from  the  eastern.  If  Mr.  Espy's 
account  of  this  storm  were  correct,  the  tide  and  waters  of  the 
Humber  would  have  been  blown  up  the  river,  rather  than  out 
of  it.  It  is  clear,  from  the  salt  spray  blown  over  the  land, 
and  the  effect  of  the  wind  on  the  tides,  that  the  storm  was 
from  the  west,  or  a  little  to  the  south  of  it.  There  are  but 
few  barometrical  facts  given;  but  they  possess  great  meteo- 
rological interest,  as  the  following  extracts  will  show : — 

Glasgow.  This  morning  (Monday)  the  snow  had  nearly 
disappeared ;  but  the  rain  continued,  with  the  barometer  at 
27i9Q  inches  !  —  a  lower  mark  than  it  has  indicated  for  twen- 
ty-five years,  with  one  exception.  This  place  is  in  the 
track  of  the  centre  of  the  storm,  according  to  Mr.  Espy ; 
yet  the  wind  was  not  very  high,  and  the  barometer  remain- 
ed extremely  low,  after  the  most  violent  part  of  the  storm 
had  in  this  place  gone  by  ! 


HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  483 

Dumfries.  At  half  past  ten  on  Sunday  morning,  the 
glass  stood  at  29295  inches  ;  at  the  same  hour  at  night  it  was 
28|§  of  an  inch ;  and  at  a  quarter  past  five  on  Monday 
morning,  it  stood  at  27240  of  an  inch.  And  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  surface  of  the  mercury,  it  must  have  been  22sths 
of  an  inch  lower  at  least. 

Here,  then,  we  have  at  Dumfries  the  barometer  falling 
from  29590  to  27|5;  from  half  past  ten  on  Sunday  morning,  to 
a  quarter  past  five  on  Monday  morning,  or  two  and  a  quar- 
ter inches  in  nineteen  and  a  quarter  hours  !  And  this  was 
where  the  storm  was  not  the  most  violent ;  and  the  last  pe- 
riod named  was  when  the  storm  had  passed  on. 

Colne.  On  Sunday  the  barometer  was  observed  to  fall 
very  rapidly  from  "  much  rain  "  to  "  very  dry,"  on  the  op- 
posite side  (that  is,  from  28|  inches  to  27  !)  ;  about  twelve 
at  night,  or  half  past,  the  wind  began  to  rise,  and  to  in- 
crease in  violence  till  about  four  o'clock,  when  it  blew  a 
complete  hurricane. 

Manchester.  Here  a  sudden  and  rapid  fall  of  the  barom- 
eter was  observed,  between  nine  and  twelve  o'clock,  of,  it  is 
said,  half  an  inch. 

Rochdale.  The  storm  began  about  two  in  the  morning, 
and  appeared  to  be  at  its  greatest  height  from  four  to  six. 
About  five,  the  barometer  was  observed  to  stand  at  27| 
inches. 

Holmfirth.  On  Sunday  evening  the  barometer  fell  rap- 
idly. A  brisk  gale  blew  from  the  south  west,  which  con- 
tinued to  rise  until  Monday  morning,  when  it  became  a 
complete  hurricane. 

A  fall  in  the  barometer,  from  diminished  pressure  alone, 
should  cool  the  air,  equal  to  what  it  would  be  cooled  by 
rising  to  a  certain  height  in  the  atmosphere.  At  Dumfries, 
the  fall  was  2|  inches  or  more ;  and  at  Glasgow,  it  was  pro- 
bably nearly  as  much.  A  rise  in  the  atmosphere,  sufficient 


484  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

to  produce  a  fall  of  two  inches  in  the  barometer,  will  be 
about  2,100  feet ;  and  at  that  height  the  thermometer  will 
fall,  say  seven  degrees.  Now  let  us  see  what  was  the  state 
of  the  temperature  at  some  of  these  places,  when  the  baro- 
meter fell  so  low. 

Edinburgh.  The  rapid  thaw  that  took  place  the  same 
night  (Sunday)  was  also  the  cause  of  a  good  deal  of  dam- 
age to  many  houses  from  the  sudden  influx  of  the  melted 
snow  through  the  roofs. 

Glasgow.  The  wind  became  fearful ;  and,  as  it  brought 
torrents  of  rain,  the  snow  went  rapidly  off,  falling  from  the 
house  tops  with  a  noise  like  thunder.  This  morning  (Mon- 
day) the  snow  had  nearly  disappeared. 

Liverpool.  About  ten  o'clock,  Sunday  night,  the  atmos- 
phere suddenly  became  unexpectedly  mild  and  warm.  In 
a  very  few  minutes  after,  alarming  gusts  of  wind  began  to 
blow  from  the  south  west  and  west  south  west.  [Extract 
from  the  Liverpool  Mail.] 

Bradford.  On  Sunday  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow, 
accompanied  by  occasional  gusts  of  wind  ;  and  about  six  a 
rapid  thaw  set  in,  attended  with  heavy  rain.  This  was 
succeeded,  on  Monday  morning,  by  a  high  wind,  which  in- 
creased in  violence  till  about  five  o'clock,  when  the  storm 
appeared  to  be  at  its  height. 

Lincoln.  At  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday  night,  it  was  a 
soft  air  ;  at  midnight  it  freshened,  and -at  three  there  was 
a  roaring  hurricane. 

Here  we  find,  that  at  the  time  the  barometer  fell  consid- 
erably, the  temperature,  so  far  from  diminishing,  as  it  would 
do  if  Mr.  Espy's  theory  were  correct,  absolutely  increased. 
It  was  a  soft  air  at  Lincoln.  The  atmosphere  became  sud- 
denly mild  and  warm  at  Liverpool,  when  the  barometer 
fell.  At  Bradford,  about  six,  a  rapid  thaw  set  in  ;  and,  in 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  a  thaw  accompanied  the  fall  of  the 


HOPKINS'S  OBJECTIONS.  485 

barometer.  In  no  pla'ce  is  it  stated  that,  as  the  barometer 
fell,  it  became  cold!  Indeed,  it  may  be  presumed,  that 
where  the  storm  raged  it  was  warm ;  as,  if  it  had  been 
really  cold,  as  shown  by  the  thermometer,  the  strength  of 
the  wind  would  have  caused  it  to  seem  very  cold  to  the 
feelings.  Mr.  Espy  says,  that  steam  is  the  moving  power 
in  storms ;  but,  if  so,  that  moving  power  may  be  modified 
by  various  circumstances.  In  January  the  dew  point  is 
commonly  as  low  as  32°,  and  in  summer  it  rises  to  60°. 
Now  the  quantity  of  steam  in  the  atmosphere,  when  the 
dew  point  is  32°,  is  ^th  of  the  whole  atmosphere ;  when 
the  dew  point  is  52°,  it  is  i55th;  when  73°,  it  is  eoth,  or  four 
times  the  quantity  at  32°. 

We  see,  then,  that  there  is  a  much  smaller  supply  of  this 
moving  power  in  winter  than  in  summer,  and  yet  the  great- 
est storms  occur  in  winter.  The  great  atmospheric  cur- 
rents are  very  much  stronger  in  the  winter  than  in  the 
summer ;  may  it  not  be  that  some  cause  acts  upon  these 
currents  when  at  their  superior  strength?  Suppose  an 
upward  current,  such  as  that  described  by  Mr.  Espy,  to 
interrupt  the  progress  of  the  upper  current  of  the  atmos- 
phere, and  cause  it  to  descend  to  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
would  not  such  a  descent  produce  all  the  phenomena 
which  were  experienced  during  the  storm  of  which  we  are 
speaking?  A  general  review  of  all  the  facts  given,  respect- 
ing this  storm,  warrants  the  following  conclusions  :  That 
the  weather  had  been  cold  and  windy  before  the  storm,  but 
not  uncommon  for  the  season.  That  the  storm  was  felt  the 
earliest  on  the  western  coast  of  Ireland,  coming  from  the 
west ;  then  in  Scotland,  later  in  England,  and  lastly  in  Den- 
mark, always  proceeding  from  the  west.  The  line  of  great- 
est damage  was  from  near  the  Shannon  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Humber.  From  Liverpool  to  Alford,  in  Lincolnshire,  salt 
spray  was  carried  in  large  quantities  across  England,  and 
the  tides  were  thrown  up  on  the  land  on  the  western  coast 
of  Lancashire,  and  from  land  on  part  of  the  eastern  coast 


486  PHILOSOPHY  OF   STORMS. 

of  Yorkshire  and  Lincolnshire ;  and  the  barometer  showed 
diminished  atmospheric  pressure  where  the  temperature  was 
warm.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that  at  no  distant  period  we 
shall  have  observers  who  will  more  carefully  register  me- 
teorological facts  during  storms,  and  that  they  will  come  to 
a  better  understanding  respecting  the  kind  of  facts  to  be 
noted  and  the  form  of  giving  them. 


Reply  to  Mr.  Hopkins,  by  a  gentleman  in  Liverpool 
204.  The  principal  objection  made  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  against 
Mr.  Espy's  theory  of  storms,  is  predicated  on  a  statement  of 
Mr.  Hopkins  himself,  which  statement  is  not  at  all  in  accord- 
ance with  Mr.  Espy's  views. 

Mr.  Hopkins  asserts  that  "  Mr.  Espy  said,  that  the  storm 
moved  in  a  line  from  the  south  west  coast  of  Ireland  to  the 
north  east  coast  of  Scotland.  If  it  did  so,  at  its  commence- 
ment, a  north  east  wind  should  have  been  found  blowing 
progressively  along  the  line  extending  by  Limerick,  Bel- 
fast and  Glasgow,  but  no  indication  was  given  in  any  of  the 
accounts,  of  such  a  wind  having  been  felt." 

I  was  much  surprised,  on  reading  this  paragraph,  because 
I  had  heard  Mr.  Espy,  in  his  lectures  here  last  summer, 
strongly  controvert  the  idea  that  wide  extended  storms  travel 
towards  the  north  east  in  this  latitude,  and  in  the  latitude  of 
Pennsylvania  ;  and  as  Mr.  Hopkins  referred  to  the  explana- 
tion of  the  theory  in  question  given  by  Mr.  Espy  at  the  late 
meeting  of  the  British  Association,  I  immediately  turned  to 
the  report  of  his  statement  in  the  Athenaeum,  and  found  the 
following  sentence  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  paper.  "Mr. 
Espy  commenced  by  stating  that  he  had  found  in  the  great 
storm  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  of  January,  1839,  that  the 
wind  changed  and  the  barometer  fell  sooner  on  the  north 
west  parts  of  Great  Britain,  than  on  the  south  east;  and 
from  these  two  circumstances  he  thinks  it  highly  probable 


REPLY  TO  MR.  HOPKINS.  487 

that  this  storm  moved  not  exactly  towards  the  east  but  a 
little  south  of  east,  and  if  so,  it  would  be  similar  to  some 
storms,  which  he  had  examined  in  the  United  States. 

Now  if  Mr.  Hopkins  had  given  this  view  of  Mr.  Espy's 
theory,  all  the  arguments  which  he  uses  against  the  theory 
on  this  point  would  really  be  in  its  favor,  provided  it  is  true, 
as  Mr.  Espy  says  it  is,  that  the  wind  set  in  south  of  east 
on  the  south  east  coast  of  England,  violent  when  it  was 
raging  north  west  in  the  western  part  of  Scotland,  and  south 
west  in  the  south  western  parts  of  England.  For  if  the 
storm  was  of  great  diameter  from  the  N.  N.  E.  to  S.  S.  W. 
and  moved  towards  the  south  of  east,  the  wind  ought  to 
set  in  from  some  point  south  of  east.  And  Mr.  Espy  says 
in  another  part  of  his  paper,  "As  the  wind  in  the  first  part 
of  the  storm  is  frequently  south  east,  and  in  the  last  part  of 
the  storm  north  west ;  and  as  the  barometer  falls  successively 
from  north  of  west,  to  south  of  east,  it  seems  highly  proba- 
ble that  these  storms  of  oblong  form  move  towards  the  south 
of  east." 

Now  if  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  Shipping  and  Mercan- 
tile Gazette  of  the  8th,  9th,  l()th,  and  llth  January,  and 
the  Edinburgh  Advertiser  of  the  8th,  he  will  find  that  the 
wind  became  piercingly  cold  at  Edinburgh  from  the  east, 
on  the  evening  of  the  sixth,  and  afterwards  changed  to  an 
opposite  direction ;  and  that  at  Bridlington  the  wind  got 
south  east  in  the  night  of  the  sixth,  blowing  a  gale,  fell  mod- 
erate about  midnight  and  about  three  next  morning  the 
awful  scene  commenced,  wind  west,  and  at  Sunderland  they 
had  on  the  seventh  a  heavy  gale  from  the  S.  S.  E.  to  south 
west. 

Another  objection,  brought  forward  against  Mr.  Espy's 
theory  is  that  "  at  Glasgow,  though  it  is  in  the  track  of  the 
centre  of  the  storm,  according  to  Mr.  Espy,  yet  the  wind 
was  not  very  high,  and  the  barometer  remained  extremely 
low  after  the  most  violent  part  of  the  storm  had  in  this 


488  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

place  gone  by."  Now  it  would  appear  that  Mr.  Hopkins 
here  drew  a  deduction  contrary  to  the  evidence  which  he 
himself  furnishes  in  another  paragraph,  where  it  is  said, 
11  Glasgow  —  the  wind  became  fearful." 

As  to  the  barometer  continuing  very  low  after  the  storm 
passed  on,  this  would  easily  be  accounted  for  by  the  contin- 
uation of  bad  weather,  and  the  evolution  of  the  latent  caloric 
during  the  condensation  of  the  vapor  into  cloud.  And  as  to 
the  fact  that  the  wind  was  much  more  violent  from  the 
westward  in  the  latter  part  of  the  storm  than  at  the  begin- 
ning it  was  from  the  eastward,  this  will  generally  be  the 
fact,  as  this  is  the  direction  of  the  wind  in  general,  and  es- 
pecially if  there  had  been  a  strong  westerly  wind  just  be- 
fore the  approach  of  the  storm,  which  was  the  case  in  this 
very  storm.  I  have  seen  a  letter  of  S.  D.  Sollet,  Esq.,  a 
highly  respectable  teacher  of  Hull,  giving  a  minute  descrip- 
tion of  the  storm  from  personal  observation,  in  which  he 
says,  "  the  wind  was  still  W.  S.  W.  at  eleven,  P.  M.,  but 
got  round  to  S.  S.  E.,  and  at  thirty  minutes  past  two,  A.  M., 
of  the  seventh,  was  a  high  gale,  S.  S.  E.,  and  blew  off 
about  two  hundred  tiles  from  the  top  of  his  building,  about 
that  time  ;  at  four,  the  wind  was  south,  very  violent,  and  at 
five,  W.  S.  W.,  chimneys  falling  in  every  direction." 

As  to  the  objection  urged  against  Mr.  Espy's  theory, 
"  that  at  the  time  the  barometer  fell  considerably,  the  tem- 
perature, so  far  from  diminishing  as  it  would  do  if  Mr. 
Espy's  theory  were  correct,  absolutely  increased;"  it  is 
difficult  to  know  what  Mr.  Hopkins  means. 

He  acknowledges  what  has  long  been  known,  "  that  a  fall 
in  the  barometer  from  diminished  pressure,  alone  would 
cool  the  air,  equal  to  what  it  would  be  cooled,  by  rising  to  a 
certain  height  in  the  atmosphere." 

This  is  demonstrated  by  experiment,  therefore  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  air  was  several  degrees  colder,  on  that  memo- 
rable night,  when  the  barometer  was  at  its  minimum,  than 


REPLY  TO  MR.  HOPKINS.  489 

it  would  have  been  under  the  ordinary  pressure.  It  seems 
to  be  rather  according  to  Mr.  Hopkins's  mode  of  reasoning 
than  Mr.  Espy's,  that  the  temperature  ought  to  have  been 
colder  than  ordinary  when  .the  barometer  fell,  for  Mr.  Hop- 
kins assigns  no  reason  for  an  increase  of  temperature  at  the 
time,  whereas  Mr.  Espy  shows  in  his  paper  a  cause  why 
very  warm  puffs  of  air  should  sometimes  occur  in  great 
storms,  with  cessation  of  rain,  notwithstanding  the  fall  of 
the  barometer,  and  the  cold  which  the  expansion  of  the  air 
due  to  that  fall  produces. 

Another  objection  to  the  theory  is  the  following.  "  Mr. 
Espy  says  that  steam  is  the  moving  power  in  storms,  but 
there  is  a  much  smaller  supply  of  this  moving  power  in 
winter  than  in  summer,  and  yet  the  greatest  storms  occur 
in  winter."  This  objection  is  plausible,  but  not  unanswera- 
ble. It  is  undoubtedly  true  according  to  Mr.  Espy's  theory, 
that  the  violence  of  a  storm,  all  other  things  being  equal, 
should  be  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  vapor  or  steam 
power  in  the  air  at  the  time.  And  at  no  season  of  the  year 
is  there  ever  a  violent  storm,  unless  the  dew  point  is  very 
high,  for  the  season.  But  the  violence  of  the  motion  up- 
wards under  a  storm,  depends  not  merely  on  the  steam 
power  in  the  air,  but  also  on  the  coldness  of  the  air  on  the 
outside  of  the  cloud  when  compared  with  the  temperature 
of  the  air  in  the  cloud  itself.  Now  this  difference  may 
even  be  greater  in  winter  than  in  summer. 

To  produce  the  most  violent  hurricanes,  however,  requires 
a  higher  dew  point  than  ever  occurs  in  the  British  Isles. 
They  only  take  place  in  low  latitudes,  such  as  the  West 
Indies,  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  &c.,  where  the  quantity  of 
vapor  near  the  surface  of  the  sea  is  sometimes  one  forty- 
eighth  of  the  weight  of  the  air  containing  it.  Mr.  Hop- 
kins's chief  objection  seems  to  be  that  the  air  does  not  blow 
in  on  all  sides  towards  the  centre  of  a  storm. 
62 


490  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

He  does  not  pretend  to  deny  that  if  the  air  did  rise  in 
the  centre  it  would  form  cloud  by  the  cold  of  expansion,  for 
this  seems  to  be  generally  admitted,  and  is  demonstrated 
by  experiment.  Nor  does  he  contradict  Mr.  Espy's  great 
principle,  on  which  his  whole  theory  is  founded,  one  which 
he  demonstrates  both  on  acknowledged  chemical  principles, 
and  by  experiments  with  the  nephelescope,  that  latent 
caloric  enough  is  given  out  into  a  great  storm  cloud  by  the 
vapor  condensed  in  forming  the  cloud  to  cause  the  barome- 
ter to  fall  as  much  as  it  actually  does  in  great  storms. 
Now,  when  it  is  known  that  the  storm  was  very  violent 
from  the  west  as  early  as  nine  o'clock,  on  the  coast  of  Ire- 
land, arid  that  the  wind  continued  to  blow  from  that  quar- 
ter for  several  hours,  while  at  the  same  time,  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  England  and  Scotland,  the  wind  was  getting  round 
to  the  eastward,  increasing  in  violence  at  Hull,  and  blowing 
a  gale  south  east  at  Bridlington,  I  would  ask  Mr.  Hopkins 
what  became  of  the  mighty  quantity  of  air  rushing  towards 
England  across  Ireland  for  four  or  five  hours? 

Did  it  spread  out  at  the  north  and  south?  So  far  from 
this  being  the  case  there  was  a  violent  wind  all  night  all 
along  the  southern  coast  of  England,  from  the  southward. 
And  at  Aberdeen,  George  Innes,  in  his  journal,  says,  the 
wind,  from  being  calm  before,  began  to  blow  heavily  from 
the  north  west  towards  night,  and  in  the  early  hours  of 
Monday,  nearly  a  hurricane  N.  N.  W.  And  all  the  ac- 
counts from  the  west  of  Scotland  give  the  wind  north  of 
west  after  the  change.  The  air,  therefore,  which  blew  with 
such  violence  from  the  west  on  the  western  coast  of  Eng- 
land till  about  midnight,  must  have  gone  upwards  before  it 
reached  the  eastern  coast ;  and  all  the  phenomena  of  cloud 
forming,  and  giving  out  latent  caloric,  as  demonstrated  by 
Mr.  Espy,  must  have  taken  place. 

Indeed,  as  Mr.  Espy  says  in  his  lectures,  if  the  wind  had 
even  been  from  the  west  on  the  eastern  coast ;  but  moder- 


REPLY  TO  MR.  HOPKINS.  491 

ate  during  the  hours  of  great  violence  from  the  west,  on  the 
western  coast,  even  then  there  must  have  been  an  upward 
motion  of  the  air  over  England,  and  the  generation  of 
cloud,  &c.,  would  have  been  the  result. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  remark  that  the  simplicity  of  the 
theory,  and  the  beautiful  explanation  which  it  gives  of  a 
vast  variety  of  phenomena,  afford  a  strong  presumption  in 
favor  of  its  truth. 


SECTION  TENTH. 

ARTIFICIAL   RAINS. 
[From  the  National  Gazette.] 

204.  MESSRS.  EDITORS,  —  Knowing  the  difficulty,  if  not 
the  impossibility,  of  making  the  subject  intelligible  in  a 
short  newspaper  article,  it  is  with  reluctance  that  I  am  now 
induced,  after  much  earnest  solicitation  from  my  friends, 
both  near  and  remote,  to  give  a  very  brief  summary  of  the 
reasons  and  FACTS,  which  have  led  me  to  desire,  that  an  ex- 
periment should  be  made  to  see  whether  rain  may  be  pro- 
duced  artificially  in  time  of  drought. 

The  documents  which  I  have  collected  on  this  subject,  if 
they  do  not  prove  that  the  experiment  will  succeed,  do  at 
least  prove  that  it  ought  to  be  tried  ;  this,  I  trust,  will  most 
satisfactorily  appear  when  they  shall  be  published  entire. 
In  the  meantime  it  has  become  necessary  to  present  to  the 
public  something  on  the  subject,  lest  longer  silence  might 
be  construed  into  an  abandonment  of  the  project. 

First,  —  It  is  known  by  experiment,  that  if  air  should  be 
expanded  into  double  the  volume  by  diminished  pressure, 
it  would  be  cooled  about  90°  of  Fahr. 

Second,  —  I  have  shown  by  experiment,  that  if  air  at  the 
common  dew  point  in  the  summer  season  in  time  of  drought, 
71°,  should  go  up  in  a  column  to  a  height  sufficient  to  ex- 
pand it  by  diminished  pressure  into  double  the  volume,  it 
would  condense  into  water  or  visible  cloud,  by  the  cold  of 
expansion,  more  than  one  half  of  its  vapor  —  a  quantity 
sufficient  to  produce  nearly  three  inches  of  rain. 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  493 

Third,  —  It  is  known  by  chemical  principles,  that  the 
caloric  of  elasticity  given  out  during  the  condensation  of 
this  vapor,  would  be  equal  to  about  20,000  tons  of  anthra- 
cite coal  burnt  on  each  square  mile  over  which  the  cloud 
extended. 

Fourth,  —  I  have  shown  by  experiment,  (see  Saturday 
Courier,  March  18,  1837,)  that  this  caloric  of  elasticity 
would  prevent  the  air  from  cooling  only  about  half  as  much 
as  it  would,  if  it  had  no  vapor  in  it,  or  about  45°  at  the  height 
assumed ;  which  would  cause  the  air  in  the  cloud  to  be,  at 
that  height,  about  45°  warmer  than  the  air  on  the  outside 
of  the  cloud  at  the  same  height.  I  have  shown  from  these 
principles,  (see  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute  for  1836,) 
that  the  barometer  would  fall  under  the  cloud  thus  formed, 
in  favorable  circumstances,  a  quantity  as  great  as  it  is  known 
to  fall  sometimes  under  the  middle  of  a  dense  and  lofty 
cloud,  and  that  consequently  the  air  would  rush  in  on  all 
sides  towards  the  centre  of  the  cloud  and  upwards  in  the 
middle,  and  thus  continue  the  condensation  of  the  vapor 
and  the  formation  of  cloud  and  the  generation  of  rain. 
(See  also  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute  for  September 
and  October,  1838,  and  for  January,  February  and  March, 
and  subsequent,  1839.) 

Fifth,  —  I  have  shown  also  in  the  volumes  quoted  above, 
that  the  air  does  move  inwards  on  all  sides  towards  the  cen- 
tre of  the  space  or  region  where  a  great  rain  is  falling,  and 
of  course  upwards,  after  it  comes  in  under  the  cloud,  which 
is  so  much  lighter  than  the  surrounding  air ;  at  least,  that 
it  does  so  in  all  storms  which  have  been  investigated,  which 
now  amount  to  sixteen,  besides  several  tornadoes,  in  all  of 
which  the  trees  were  thrown  with  their  tops  inwards. 

From  the  principles  here  established  by  experiment,  and 
afterwards  confirmed  by  observation,  it  follows,  that  if  a 
large  body  of  air  is  made  to  ascend  in  a  column,  a  large 
cloud  will  be  generated,  and  that  that  cloud  will  contain  in 


494  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

itself  a  self-sustaining  power,  which  may  move  from  the 
place  over  which  it  was  formed,  ^and  cause  the  air  over 
which  it  passes,  to  rise  up  into  it,  and  thus  form  more  cloud 
and  rain,  until  the  rain  may  become  more  general ;  for  many 
storms  which  commence  in  the  West  Indies,  very  narrow, 
are  known  to  move  from  the  place  of  beginning,  several 
thousand  miles,  widening  out  and  increasing  in  size,  until 
they  become  many  hundred  miles  wide.  (See  Redfield  and 
Reid,  and  the  Reports  of  Joint  Committee.) 

If  these  principles  are  just,  it  will  follow,  when  the  air  is 
in  a  favorable  state,  that  the  bursting  out  of  a  volcano  ought 
to  produce  rain ;  and  such  is  known  to  be  the  fact ;  and  I 
have  abundant  documents  in  my  possession  to  prove  it. 
Some  are  given  below. 

So,  under  very  favorable  circumstances,  the  bursting  out 
of  great  fires  ought  to  produce  rain  ;  and  I  have  many  facts 
in  my  possession  rendering  it  highly  probable,  if  not  certain, 
that  great  rains  have  sometimes  been  produced  by  great 
fires. 

It  is  a  general  opinion  in  parts  of  the  country  where  great 
fires  frequently  take  place,  that  those  fires  produce  rain. 
Now  this  opinion  could  hardly  have  originated  without 
some  circumstances  besides  mere  coincidence  attending 
them,  such  as  related  in  the  following  account.  Mr.  Dob- 
rezhoffer,  a  missionary  to  Paraguay,  speaking  of  the  tall 
grass  and  bulrushes  on  fire,  says :  —  "I.  myself  have  seen 
clouds  and  lightning  produced  from  the  smoke,  as  it  is  flying 
off  like  a  whirlwind;  so  that  the  Indians  are  not  to  blame 
for  setting  fire  to  the  plains  in  order  to  produce  rain,  they 
having  learned  that  the  thicker  smoke  turns  into  clouds 
which  pour  forth  water."  (Account  of  the  Abiphones,  vol. 
3d,  page  150.) 

Mr.  Lapice,  of  Louisiana,  informed  Dr.  S.  Calhoun,  of 
Philadelphia,  "  that  the  conflagration  of  the  long  grass  in  the 
prairies  oY  that  State  covers  every  thing  with  its  cinders  for 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  495 

miles  around,  and  that  rain  follows  it  shortly,  according  to 
immemorial  observation  in  that  country." 

"Very  extensive  fires  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  the  woods,  are 
so  generally  followed  by  heavy  floods  of  rain,  that  there  is 
some  reason  to  believe  that  the  enormous  pillars  of  smoke 
have  some  share  in  producing  them."  [Mag.  Nat.  Hist,  for 
Dec.,  1835.] 

The  bad  philosophy  of  supposing  that  smoke  was  turned 
into  cloud  and  produced  rain,  does  not  weaken  the  evidence 
of  the  main  fact. 

If  the  principle  is  correct,  that  clouds  are  formed  by  up- 
moving  columns  of  air,  we  should  expect  to  find,  in  favor- 
able states  of  the  air,  that  clouds  would  form  over  large 
cities  and  manufacturing  towns  where  much  fuel  is  burnt ; 
and  so  we  find  it  to  be. 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  me  from  Benjamin  Matthias  of  Phi- 
ladelphia : 

"  In  the  course  of  the  last  winter,  while  in  England,  I 
visited  Manchester  four  or  five  times,  and  on  each  day  it 
rained.  Several  of  the  inhabitants  assured  me  that  it  rains 
in  Manchester  more  or  less  every  day  in  the  year." 

Extract  from  Edward  Mammatt's  Collection  of  Facts 
concerning  Ashby  Coal  Field.  4to.  London  :  1836  : 

"  When  the  air  is  apparently  stagnant  in  the  valley  of 
the  Thames  and  surrounding  country,  a  strong  current  is 
found  to  set  in,  on  every  side  of  London,  along  the  streets 
leading  from  the  country,  in  the  morning.  This  current  is 
no  doubt  occasioned  by  the  rarefaction  in  the  high  chim- 
neys over  so  many  thousand  fires  just  kindled,  and  must 
be  the  cause  of  the  introduction  of  fresh  air  to  an  immense 
extent,  which  would  not  otherwise  flow.  This  rarefaction 
produces  other  phenomena,  among  which,  when  the  atmo- 
sphere is  in  a  light  state,  and  clouds  are  passing  at  a  height 
which  does  not  allow  them  to  condense  and  fall  in  rain, 
these  accumulate  in  passing  over  London,  and  either  remain 


496  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

as  a  dense  fog,  or  drop  in  small  rain  all  day  long,  scarcely 
clearing  once ;  the  country,  at  a  little  distance,  having  very 
little  rain." 

The  bad  philosophy  of  supposing  the  air  so  light  on  these 
occasions  as  to  let  the  clouds  on  passing  sink  down  in  it 
over  London,  does  not  invalidate  the  evidence  of  the  prin- 
cipal fact. 

From  these  remarkable  facts  alone,  I  think  it  will  be  ac- 
knowledged that  there  is  some  connection  between  great 
fires  and  rains  other  than  mere  coincidence,  even  if  that 
connection  remained  a  mystery.     Humboldt  acknowledged 
this  in  the  case  of  volcanoes,  when  he  speaks  of  the  myste- 
rious connection  between  volcanoes  and  rain,  and  says  that 
when  a  volcano  bursts  out  in  South  America  in  a  dry  season, 
it  sometimes  changes  it  to  a  rainy  one.     But  now,  when  it 
is  demonstrated  by  the  most  decisive  evidence,  the  evidence 
of  experiment,  that  air,  in  ascending  into  the  atmosphere  in 
a  column,  as  it  must  do  over  a  great  fire,  will  cool  by  di- 
minished pressure,  so  much  that  it  will  begin  to  condense 
its  vapor  into  cloud  as  soon  as  it  shall  rise  about  as  many 
hundred  yards -as  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  above  the 
dew  point  in  degrees  of  Fahr.,  it  amounts  to  a  very  high 
probability  that  great  fires  have  sometim.es  produced  rain. 
That  great  fires  and  even  volcanoes  should  not  always  pro- 
duce rain  is  manifest  from  the  circumstance  that,  as  they 
break  out  accidentally,  they  may  sometimes  occur  when 
the  state  of  the  atmosphere  is  unfavorable,  and  even  ad- 
verse to  rain.     First,  if  they  should  break  out  when  there 
is  a  current  of  air,  either  near  the  surface  of  the  earth,  or 
at  a  considerable  distance  above,  of  some  strength,  the  up- 
moving  column  would  be  swept  by  it,  out  of  the  perpen- 
dicular, before  a  cloud  of  great  density  could  be  formed, 
and  thus  rain  would  be  prevented. 

Second,  they  might  break  out  when  the  dew  point  was 
too  low  to  produce  rain  at  all ;  and,  third,  there  may  some- 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  497 

times  be  an  upper  stratum  of  air,  containing  so  much  ca- 
loric that  its  specific  levity  would  prevent  the  upmoving 
column  from  rising  into  it  far  enough  to  cause  rain. 

These  three  things,  I  conceive,  are  the  only  circumstances 
which  prevent  great  fires  from  producing  rain  at  all  times 
when  they  occur.  The  first  two  can  be  ascertained  with- 
out much  difficulty  by  means  of  small  balloons  and  the 
dew  point ;  the  last,  in  the  present  state  of  science,  cannot 
always  be  known,  and  a  failure  on  that  account  must  be 
risked  by  the  experimenter.1  This  risk  I  am  willing  to  run, 
if  Congress  or  the  State  legislature  will  promise  a  sufficient 
reward  in  case  of  success. 

It  has  been  objected  to  my  project  that  I  propose  too 
much,  and  that  it  is  utterly  absurd  to  expect  to  make  it  rain 
in  time  of  drought,  when  there  is  such  a  scarcity  of  vapor 
in  the  air. 

Now,  this  objection  is  founded  on  an  entire  ignorance  of 
the  fact,  arising  from  a  want  of  due  consideration.  For 
there  is  generally  more  vapor  in  the  time  of  summer 
drought,  than  at  any  other  time,  as  I  know  by  experiments 
constantly  made  almost  every  day  for  these  last  ten  years ; 
and  this  is  reasonable  in  itself,  for  the  vapor  is  rising  into 
the  air  and  increasing  every  day  of  dry  weather,  preparing 
for  another  rain.  A  quiet  state  of  the  atmosphere  is  also 
more  likely  to  occur,  to  great  heights,  in  time  of  droughts 
than  at  any  other  time,  for  immediately  after  rains  there 
are  sure  to  be  cross  currents  of  air,  produced  by  the  in- 
ward motion  of  the  air  at  the  lower  part  of  the  cloud,  and 
an  outward  motion  in  the  upper  part,  which  require  some 
time  after  the  rain  to  come  to  rest. 

If  I  have  succeeded  in  showing  that  there  is  any  the  least 
ground  to  hope  that  an  attempt  to  produce  rain,  might  some- 
times-succeed  under  favorable  circumstances,  and  that  those 

1  This  difficulty  will  probably  be  overcome  by  Pouillet's  Actinometer,  lately 
invented. 

63 


498  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

favorable  circumstances  are  more  likely  to  occur  in  time  of 
drought  than  at  any  other  time,  then  it  follows  that  the 
experiment  is  a  highly  interesting  one,  and  ought  to  be  im- 
mediately tried.  If  it  should  be  successful,  who  can  tell 
the  mighty  results  which  may  follow  in  its  train? 

I  have  many  reasons  and  facts  which  induce  me  to  be- 
lieve that  if  a  very  large  cloud  is  once  generated,  the  rain 
will  become  general,  or  at  least  spread  over  a  wide  extent 
of  territory ;  and  who  can  tell,  a  priori,  that  this  will  not 
be  the  case,  when  it  is  now  known  that  an  immense 
steam  power  is  let  loose  in  the  formation  of  such  a  cloud  ; 
a  power  which  can  be  calculated  with  as  much  accuracy  as 
that  of  the  steam  engine  itself,  and  in  part  on  the  same 
principle. 

Gentlemen  have  made  their  puns  on  this  project,  and  had 
their  laugh ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  see  by  letters  which  I  have 
received,  that  my  friends  and  relations  at  a  distance  are 
much  troubled  at  these  innocent  laughs;  but  let  them  be 
consoled;  I  have  laughed  too,  well  knowing  that  those  who 
laughed  the  most  heartily,  would  be  the  most  willing  to  en- 
courage the  experiment,  as  soon  as  they  discovered  they 
had  nothing  to  laugh  at.  As  a  proof  that  I  was  right  in 
this  anticipation,  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that  I  have 
lately  received  a  letter  from  a  highly  distinguished  member 
of  the  American  legislature,1  who  laughed  as  heartily  as  any 
one  when  my  petition  was  presented  there,  containing  many 
kind  expressions,  and  promising  me  by  way  of  amends  for 
his  levity,  "  to  avail  himself  of  the  earliest  opportunity  of 
being  better  informed  on  the  subject  of  my  new  philosophy." 
Such  conduct  as  this  is  all  I  want ;  I  fear  not  the  strictest 
scrutiny. 

If  I  should  be  encouraged  to  go  on  with  the  experiment, 
I  mean  to  have  a  large  mass  of  combustibles  prepared  ready 
for  use,  and  when  I  have  found  all  the  circumstances,  men- 

1  Hon.  J.  J.  Crittenden. 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  499 

tioned  before,  favorable  in  a  time  of  drought,  I  would  set 
fire  to  the  circumference  in  various  places  at  once.  Soon 
after  the  fire  commences,  I  will  expect  to  see  clouds  begin 
to  form,  about  as  many  hundred  yards  high  as  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  is  above  the  dew  point  in  degrees  of  Fahren- 
heit. 1  will  expect  to  see  this  cloud  rapidly  increase  in 
size,  if  its  top  is  not  swept  off  by  a  current  of  air  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  above  the  earth,  until  it  becomes  so  lofty 
as  to  rain.  I  shall  expect  the  cloud  to  move  eastwardly, 
increasing  in  width  as  it  advances ;  and  the  next  day  I 
shall  expect  the  region  to  the  south  of  where  the  rain  fell, 
to  be  visited  by  rain;  for  a  reason  explained  in  my  writings. 

But  it  is  in  vain  to  anticipate  all  the  results  which  will 
follow,  for  nothing  but  the  experiment  itself  can  demon- 
strate them.  If  the  experiments,  when  repeatedly  tried, 
should  fail,  it  would  be  in  vain  for  me  to  say  I  would  not 
be  mortified,  but  I  will  not  incur  any  disgrace — unless  it  is 
disgraceful  to  desire  to  see  a  great  experiment  made,  which 
all  the  knowledge  we  have  on  the  subject,  in  the  present 
state  of  science,  leads  us  to  hope  will  be  crowned  with 
success. 

I  have  made  this  very  brief,  though  necessarily  imperfect 
statement  of  my  reasons  for  wishing  to  see  the  experiment 
tried,  which  can  alone  decide  the  question,  to  comply  with 
the  earnest  and  repeated  solicitations  of  my  friends ;  I  will 
now  in  conclusion  say  a  word  for  myself. 

The  present  state  of  the  science  of  meteorology  renders 
it  highly  important  to  know  in  what  direction  and  with 
what  velocity  summer  rains  travel  over  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  What  is  their  shape  —  round  or  oblong  —  and  if  ob- 
long, in  what  direction  their  transverse  diameter  lies,  and 
whether  they  move  side  foremost  or  end  foremost  or  ob- 
liquely. Now  I  request  gentlemen  throughout  the  United 
States,  who  feel  interested  in  this  subject,  to  keep  a  journal 
of  all  rains  from  the  beginning  of  June  till  the  end  of 
September ;  noting  their  beginnings  and  endings,  the  force 


500  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

and  direction  of  the  winds,  and  also  of  the  clouds,  and  send 
the  accounts,  (published  in  some  paper,)  as  early  in  Octo- 
ber as  convenient,  to  William  Hamilton,  Esq.,  Actuary  of 
the  Franklin  Institute,  Philadelphia. 

Finally,  if  any  gentleman  intends  to  clear  from  twenty  to 
fifty  acres  of  woodland  this  spring,  or  early  in  the  summer, 
in  the  western  or  north  western  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  will 
he  please  to  inform  me  of  the  fact  as  soon  as  convenient. 

Journals  of  the  weather  also  for  the  16th,  17th,  and  18th 
of  March,  1838,  kept  in  various  parts  of  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  are  much  desired ;  and  if  gentlemen  can  even  tell 
me  how  the  trees  are  thrown  down,  indicating  the  direction  of 
the  wind,  the  information  will  be  highly  valuable,  and  should 
not  be  withheld,  if  nothing  else  is  known  or  recollected.1 
I  am,  gentlemen,  yours  respectfully, 

JAMES  P.  Espy. 

Philadelphia,  April  2d,  1839. 

Documents  referred  to  in  Article  204. 

[Sir  William  Hamilton  on  the  eruption  of  29th  September,  1538,  which  formed 
Nuevo  Monte,  p.  127.] 

205.  First  then,  (says  Marco  Antonio  delle  Falconi,)  will 
I  relate  simply  and  exactly  the  operations  of  nature,  of 
which  I  was  either  myself  an  eye  witness,  or  as  they  were 
related  to  me  by  those  who  had  been  witnesses  of  them.  It 
is  now  two  years  that  there  have  been  frequent  earthquakes 
at  Pozzuolo,  at  Naples,  and  the  neighboring  parts  ;  on  the 
day  and  in  the  night  before  the  appearance  of  this  eruption, 
above  twenty  shocks,  great  and  small,  were  felt  at  the  above 
mentioned  places.  The  eruption  made  its  appearance  the 
29th  of  September,  1538,  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  the  angel. 
It  was  on  a  Sunday,  about  an  hour  in  the  night;  and,  as  I 
have  been  informed,  they  began  to  see  on  that  spot,  between  • 
the  hot  baths  or  sweating  rooms,  and  Trepergule,  flames  of 

1  This  information  would  still  be  valuable :  and  so  of  any  additional  facts 
concerning  any  storm  investigated  in  this  volume. 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS,  501 

fire,  which  first  made  their  appearance,  at  the  baths.  Then 
extending  towards  Trepergule,  and  fixing  in  the  little  valley 
that  lies  between  the  Monte  Barbaro  and  the  hillock  called 
del  Pericolo,  which  was  the  road  to  the  lake  of  Avernus 
and  the  baths.  In  a  short  time  the  fire  increased  to  such  a 
degree,  that  it  burst  open  the  earth  in  this  place,  and  threw 
up  so  great  a  quantity  of  ashes  and  pumice  stones,  mixed 
with  water,  as  covered  the  whole  country,  and  in  Naples  a 
shower  of  these  ashes  and  water  fell  a  great  part  of  the 
night.  The  next  morning,  which  was  Monday,  and  the 
last  of  the  month,  the  poor  inhabitants  of  Pozzuolo,  struck 
with  so  horrible  a  sight,  quitted  their  habitations,  covered 
with  that  muddy  and  black  shower,  which  continued  in 
that  country  the  whole  day,  flying  death,  but  with  faces 
painted  with  its  colors;  some  with  sacks  full  of  their 
goods,  others  leading  an  ass  loaded  with  their  frightened 
family  towards  Naples ;  others  carrying  quantities  of  birds 
of  various  sorts  that  had  fallen  dead  at  the  time  the  erup- 
tion began ;  others  again  with  fish  which  they  had  found, 
and  were  to  be  met  with  in  plenty  upon  the  shore,  the  sea 
having  been  at  that  time  considerably  dried  up.  Don  Petro 
di  Toledo,  viceroy  of  the  kindgom,  with  many  gentlemen, 
went  to  see  so  wonderful  an  appearance;  I  also,  having  met 
with  the  most  honorable  and  incomparable  gentleman, 
Signior  Fabritio  Moramaldo,  on  the  road,  went  and  saw 
the  eruption  and  the  many  wonderful  effects  of  it.  The  sea 
towards  Baia  had  retired  a  considerable  way;  though  from 
the  quantity  of  ashes  and  broken  pumice  stones  thrown 
up  by  the  eruption,  it  appeared  almost  totally  dry.  I  saw, 
likewise,  two  springs  in  those  lately  discovered  ruins,  one 
before  the  house  which  was  the  queen's,  of  hot  and  salt 
water;  the  other  of  fresh  and  cold  water,  on  the  shore, 
about  250  paces  nearer  to  the  eruption:  some  say,  that 
still  nearer  to  the  spot  where  the  eruption  happened,  a  stream 
of  fresh  water  issued  forth  like  a  little  river.1  Turning  to- 

1  See  Section  IX. ;  for  explanation. 


502  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

wards  the  place  of  the  eruption,  you  saw  mountains  of 
smoke,  part  of  which  was  very  black,  and  part  very  white, 
rise  up  to  a  great  height ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  smoke,  at 
times,  deep  colored  flames  burst  forth  with  huge  stones 
and  ashes,  and  you  heard  a  noise  like  the  discharge  of  a 
number  of  great  artillery.  It  appeared  to  me  as  if  Tyhaeus 
and  Enceladus  from  Ischia  and  ./Etna,  with  innumerable 
giants,  or  those  from  the  Oampi  Phlegrei,  (which  according 
to  the  opinions  of  some,  were  situated  in  this  neighborhood,) 
were  come  to  wage  war  again  with  Jupiter.  The  natural 
historians  may  perhaps  reasonably  say,  that  the  wise  poets 
meant  no  more  by  giants,  than  exhalations,  shut  up  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  which,  not  finding  a  free  passage,  open 
one  by  their  own  force  and  impulse,  and  form  mountains, 
as  those  which  occasioned  this  eruption  have  been  seen  to 
do;  and  methought  I  saw  those  torrents  of  burning  smoke 
that  Pindar  describes  in  an  eruption  of  JEtna,  now  called 
Mon  Gibello  in  Sicily ;  in  imitation  of  which,  as  some  say, 
Virgil  wrote  these  lines  (<  Ipse  sed  horrificis  juxta  tonat 
JEtnarmnis"  &c.  After  the  stones  and  ashes  with  clouds 
of  thick  smoke  had  been  sent  up  by  the  impulse  of  the  fire 
and  windy  exhalation,  (as  you  see  in  a  great  cauldron  that 
boils,)  into  the  middle  region  of  the  air,  overcome  by  their 
own  natural  weight,  when  from  distance  the  strength  they 
had  received  from  impulse  was  spent,  rejected  likewise  by 
the  cold  and  unfriendly  region,  you  saw  them  fall  thick, 
and,  by  degrees,  the  condensed  smoke  clear  away,  raining 
ashes  with  water  and  stones  of  different  sizes  according  to 
the  distance  from  the  place;  then  by  degrees,  with  the  same 
noise  and  smoke,  it  threw  out  stones  and  ashes  again,  and 
so  on  by  fits.  This  continued  two  days  and  nights,  when 
the  smoke  and  force  of  the  fire  began  to  abate.  The  fourth 
day,  which  was  Thursday,  at  22  o'clock,  there  was  so 
great  an  eruption,  that,  as  I  was  in  the  Gulf  of  Purroli  com- 
ing from  Ischia,  and  not  far  from  Misenum,  I  saw  in  a 


ARTIFICIAL1  RAINS.  503 

short  time,  many  columns  of  smoke  shoot  up  with  the  most 
terrible  noise  I  ever  heard,  and,  bending  over  the  sea,  came 
near  our  boat,  which  was  four  miles  or  more  from  the  place 
of  their  birth ;  and  the  quantity  of  ashes,  stones  and  smoke 
seemed  as  if  they  would  cover  the  whole  earth  and  sea. 
Stones,  great  and  small,  and  ashes,  more  or  less,  according 
to  the  impulse  of  the  fiery  exhalations,  began  to  fall  so  that 
a  great  part  of  this  country  was  covered  with  ashes  and  many 
that  have  seen  it  say  they  reached  the  vale  of  Diana,  and 
some  parts  of  Calabria,  which  are  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  from  Pozzuolo.  On  Friday  and  Saturday 
nothing  but  a  little  smoke  appeared,  so  that  many  taking 
courage  went  upon  the  spot,  and  say  that  with  the  stones 
and  ashes  thrown  up,  a  mountain  has  been  formed  in  that 
valley  not  less  than  three  miles  in  circumference,  and  al- 
most as  high  as  the  Monte  Barbaro,  which  is  near  it,  cover- 
ing the  Cenattaria,  the  castle  of  Trepergule,  all  those  build- 
ings and  the  greatest  part  of  the  baths  that  were  about 
them  ;  extending  south  towards  the  sea,  north  as  far  as  the 
lake  of  Avernus,  west  to  the  Sudatory,  and  joining  east  to 
the  foot  of  the  Monte  Barbaro  ;  so  that  this  place  has  chang- 
ed its  form  and  face  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  be  known 
again,  a  thing  almost  incredible  to  those  who  have  not  seen 
it ;  that  in  so  short  a  time  so  considerable  a  mountain  could 
have  been  formed.  On  its  summits  there  is  a  mouth  in  the 
form  of  a  cup,  which  may  be  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  circum- 
ference, though  some  say  it  is  as  large  as  our  market  place 
at  Naples,  from  which  there  issues  a  constant  smoke;  and 
though  I  have  seen  it  only  at  a  distance,  it  appears  very 
great.  The  Sunday  following,  which  was  the  6th  October, 
many  people  going  to  see  this  phenomenon,  and  some 
having  ascended  half  the  mountain,  others  more,  about  two 
o'clock,  there  happened  so  sudden  and  horrid  an  eruption, 
with  so  great  a  smoke,  that  many  of  the  people  were  stifled, 
some  of  which  could  never  be  found.  I  have  been  told  that 
the  number  of  dead  and  lost  amounted  to  twenty-four. 


504  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

From  that  time  to  this,  nothing  remarkable  happened.  It 
seems  as  if  the  eruption  returned  periodically,  like  the  ague 
or  gout.  I  believe  henceforward  it  will  not  have  such  force, 
though  the  eruption  of  the  Sunday  was  accompanied  with 
showers  of  ashes  and  water  which  fell  at  Naples,  and  were 
seen  to  extend  as  far  as  the  mountain  of  Somma,  called  Ve- 
suvius, by  the  ancients,  and,  as  I  have  often  remarked, 
the  clouds  of  smoke  proceeding  from  the  eruption,  moved 
in  a  direct  line  towards  that  mountain,  as  if  these  places 
had  a  correspondence  and  connection  one  with  the  other.1 
In  the  night,  many  beams  and  columns  of  fire  were  seen  to 
proceed  from  this  eruption,  and  some  like  flashes  of  light- 
ning. We  have  then  many  circumstances  for  our  observa- 
tion, the  earthquakes,  the  eruption,  the  drying  up  of  the  sea, 
the  quantity  of  dead  fishes  and  birds,  the  birth  of  springs, 
the  shower  of  ashes  with  water  and  without  water,  the  in- 
numerable trees  in  that  whole  country,  as  far  as  the  Grotto 
of  Lucullus,  torn  from  their  roots,  thrown  down  and  cover- 
ed with  ashes,  it  gave  one  pain  to  see  them,  and  all  these 
effects  were  produced  by  the  same  cause  that  produce^ 
earthquakes. 

In  page  82,  he  says,  on  a  visit  to  Mount  ./Etna  :  We  saw 
the  evident  marks  of  a  dreadful  torrent  of  hot  water  that 
came  out  of  the  great  crater  at  the  time  of  an  eruption  of 
lava  in  the  year  1755.  Luckily  this  torrent  did  not  take  its 
course  over  the  inhabited  parts  of  the  mountain;  as  a  like 
accident  on  Mount  Vesuvius,  in  1631  swept  away  some 
towns  and  villages  in  its  neighborhood,  with  thousands  of 
their  inhabitants.  The  common  received  opinion  is,  that 
these  eruptions  of  water  proceed  from  the  volcanoes  having 
a  communication  with  the  sea;  but  I  rather  believe  them  to 
proceed  merely  from  depositions  of  rain  water  in  some  of 
the  inward  cavities  of  them. 

The  reader,  I  think,  will  have  but  little  doubt  that  these 
torrents  of  fresh  water  were  produced  in  the  same  manner 

1  Canied  by  the  upper  current  of  the  air  towards  the  east. 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  505 

as  those  in  the  white  mountains  and  at  the  peak  of  Tene- 
riffe,  &c.     [Sec.  VIIL] 

206.  About  the  first  of  June,  1783,  three  columns  of 
flame  rose  up  from  Iceland,  and  presently  united,  when 
they  could  be  seen  thirty-four  miles  off,  when  the  flame 
was  not  covered  by  thick  vapor.  On  the  llth  June,  the 
fiery  column,  which  had  vanished  for  a  little,  again  made 
its  appearance,  and  could  be  distinctly  seen  at  the  distance 
of  thirty  or  forty  miles ;  its  thundering  noise  could  be  heard 
at  the  same  distance,  and  continued  the  whole  summer. 
The  above  column  was  accompanied  the  same  day  by  a 
violent  rain.  The  places  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  col- 
umn were  at  the  same  time  exposed  to  violent  cold,  snow, 
and  hail  of  uncommon  size;  but  as  the  column  extended 
further,  these  were  succeeded  by  a  scorching  and  almost 
insufferable  heat,  and  the  sun  appeared  like  a  red  globe. 
This  heat  continued  for  several  days  without,  interruption, 
and  returned  several  times  in  succession.  The  rain  occa- 
sioned infinite  damage,  because  the  water  in  many  places 
swept  off  whole  pieces  of  soil,  and  carried  them  with  it  into 
the  deep  gulfs. 

The  sails  and  decks  of  several  ships,  while  on  their  pas- 
sage between  Copenhagen  and  Iceland,  were  covered  with 
black  sandy  dust:  even  in  Zeland  and  Copenhagen  the  sun, 
from  the  beginning  of  June  till  the  8th  of  August,  seemed 
remarkably  red,  and  throughout  the  whole  month  of  July 
the  atmosphere  was  so  filled  with  dust  and  vapor  that  the 
sun  was  red  at  noon,  and  could  not  be  seen  in  the  evening 
at  eight  or  nine  o'clock.  [Tilloch's  Magazine. 

In  an  eruption  on  the  25th  of  December,  1817,  there  was 
a  hail  storm  accompanied  with  red  sand.  [Quarterly  Jour. 
Sci.  Lit.  and  Arts,  Vol.  5,  p.  201. 


207.  Captain  Tillard,  describing  an  eruption  of  a  volcano 

64 


506  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

in  the  sea,  near  the  Island  of  St.  Michael,  on  the  12th  of  June, 
1811,  says,  "as  the  impetus,  with  which  these  columns  of 
smoke  were  severally  propelled,  diminished,  and  their  ascend- 
ing motion  had  nearly  ceased,  they  broke  into  various  branches 
resembling  a  group  of  pines,  these  again  forming  themselves 
into  festoons  of  white  feathery  smoke,  in  the  most  fanci- 
ful manner  imaginable,  intermixed  with  the  finest  particles 
of  falling  ashes,  which  at  one  time  assumed  the  appearance 
of  innumerable  plumes  of  black  and  white  ostrich  feathers 
surmounting  each  other ;  at  another,  that  of  light  wavy 
branches  of  a  weeping  willow. 

"  During  these  bursts,  the  most  vivid  lightning  continu- 
ally issued  from  the  densest  part  of  the  volcano;  and  the 
cloud  of  smoke  ascending  to  an  altitude  much  above  the 
highest  point  to  which  the  ashes  were  projected,  rolled  off 
in  large  masses  of  fleecy  clouds,  gradually  expanding  them- 
selves before  the  wind  in  a  direction  nearly  horizontal,  and 
drawing  up  to  them  a  quantity  of  water-spouts,  which  formed 
a  most  beautiful  and  striking  addition  to  the  general  ap- 
pearance of  the  scene."  [Tilloch's  Mag.,  Vol.  39,  p.  452.] 
And  at  page  229,  vol.  38,  it  is  said,  these  water-spouts,  af- 
ter spreading  themselves  in  the  air,  fell  in  a  heavy  rain,  ac- 
companied with  vast  quantities  of  fine  black  sand,  which 
completely  covered  the  Sabrinas's  deck,  at  the  distance  of 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  volcano. 

208.  "  The  besiegers,  wishing  to  set  the  town  on  fire,  pro- 
cured for  this  purpose  a  large  number  of  faggots.  They 
tossed  them  from  their  own  mound  into  the  space  between 
the  wall  and  inner  fortification. 

"  As  many  hands  were  employed  in  this  business,  they 
soon  filled  it  up,  and  then  proceeded  to  toss  more  of  them 
into  the  other  parts  of  the  city  lying  beyond,  as  far  as  they 
could  by  the  advantage  given  to  them  by  the  eminence. 
Upon  these  they  threw  fiery  balls  made  of  pitch  and  suk 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  507 

phur,  which  caught  the  faggots,  and  soon  kindled  snch  a 
flame  as  before  this  time  no  one  had  ever  seen  kindled  by 
the  art  of  man  :  and  the  Plateans,  who  had  baffled  all  other 
efforts,  very  narrowly  were  delivered  from  perishing  by  its 

fury It  is  now  reported  that  a  heavy  rain,  falling  on 

a  sudden,  attended  with  claps  of  thunder,  extinguished  the 
farces  and  put  an  end  to  this  eminent  danger."  [Siege  of 
Platea,  Thucidides,  book  2,  page  81,  of  Smith's  version. 

"  In  the  year  1779,  a  party  of  British  came  into  Con- 
necticut and  plundered  New  Haven,  where  Yale  College 
is  situated.  They  burned  Fairfield  and  Norwalk,  and 
some  other  places.  Fairfield  was  burned  just  at  evening. 
A  thunder  storm  came  up  at  the  same  time  and  added 
greatly  to  the  horrors  of  the  scene."  [History  of  the  United 
States. 

TREMONT  HOUSE,  June  18,  1839. 
JAMES  P.  ESPY,  ESQ., 

209.  DEAR  SIR,  —  Observing  that  yon  are  about  to  deliver 
a  course  of  lectures  in  Boston,  I  deem  it  not  impertinent  to 
relate  a  conversation  which  I  recently  had  with  my  brother, 
who  spent  the  last  winter  in  Florida. 

My  brother  informed  me,  that  it  was  the  practice  of  the 
planters  there,  to  set  fire  to  the  reeds,  brush  wood,  arid  tall 
grass,  which  cover  the  marshes  in  that  country,  and  that 
those  fires  were  generally  succeeded  by  copious  rains.  He 
spoke  of  one  instance  in  particular,  when  a  large  mass  of 
wood,  which  had  been  collected  together,  to  the  extent  of 
from  one  to  two  thousand  cords,  and  being  fired,  produced 
an  immense  column  of  blaze  and  smoke,  extending  to  a 
great  height,  immediately  after  which,  clouds  began  to  form 
in  all  directions,  and  rain  fell  in  such  torrents,  that  before 
morning,  the  fire  was  completely  extinguished  ;  leaving  the 
large  trunks  of  the  trees  unconsumed. 

I  have  written  to  my  brother,  and  requested  him  to  fur- 


508  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

nish  you  some  further  particulars;  I  presume  he  will  write 
to  you.  The  place  where  these  fires  occurred,  was  near 
the  mouth  of  St.  John's  river,  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  in  lat 
30°,  north.  Yours,  truly, 

THOMAS  FLETCHER. 

When  king  Charles  was  at  Belvoir,  his  chamberlain,  Lord 
Pembroke,  wrote  to  the  high  sheriff  of  Staffordshire,  the 
king's  commands,  that  no  fern  should  be  burnt  at  the  time 
he  was  about  to  visit  them,  as  he  understood  it  brought 
down  rain.  [Gardiner's  Music  and  Friends,  vol.  1,  page  408. 

Benjamin  Matthias,  Esq.,  to  Mr.  Espy. 

PHILADELPHIA,  December  4th,  1838. 

210.  DEAR  SIR,  — I  am  ignorant  whether  or  not  the  cir- 
cumstance may  have  any  bearing  upon  your  system  of  the 
11  Philosophy  of  Storms  "  but  while  in  England,  last  winter, 
I  was  struck  with  the  peculiar  and  almost  constant  humid- 
ity of  the  atmosphere,  in  and  about  the  town  of  Manches- 
ter.    In  the  course  of  the  winter,  I  visited  this  town  on  four 
or  five  different  occasions,  and  on  each  day  it  rained.     Sev- 
eral of  the  inhabitants  assured  me,  that  it  rains  in  Man- 
chester, more  or  less,  every  day  in  the  year,  and  I  arn  in- 
clined to  believe  that  such  is  the  fact,   or  at  least,  that  rain 
falls  on  six  days  out  of  seven. 

Manchester,  as  you  know,  is  an  extensive  manufacturing 
town.  It  lies  on  low  ground,  on  a  small  river,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  hills.  An  immense  quantity  of  bituminous 
cqai  is  daily  consumed  in  the  manufactories,  and  the  at- 
moSphere  over  the  town,  is  surcharged  with  a  smoke  sulli- 
ciently  dense,  in  general,  to  obscure  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

JSztract  from  the  "Spirit  of  the  East,"  vol.  11,  page  108. 

211.  The  tract  of  country  between  Jericho  and  the  Jor- 
dan, is  covered  with  a  grass,  not  above  six  or  eight  inches 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  509 

in  height,  but  exceedingly  inflammable,  giving  a  bright 
light;  it  is  always  dry  and  like  tinder  at  this  season  of  the 
year ;  the  caravan  is  preceded  and  followed  by  men  with 
torches,  who  set  this  grass  on  fire ;  it  then  burns  on  both 
sides  along  their  path,  producing  the  most  singular  and 
splendid  effect.  Strange  stories  are  told  of  the  saints  who 
have  furnished  this  district  with  a  plant  so  admirably 
adapted  to  give  splendor  to  this  nightly  pilgrimage  of  devo- 
tion. Strange  stories  are  also  told  of  the  furious  storms  and 
the  torrents  of  rain  that  impious  Giouls  have  aroused  in  the 
welkin  to  quench  the  flame  that  guided  the  pilgrim  on  his 
pious  way.  Such  a  storm  overtook  the  caravan  with  which 
my  faithful  Hadji  went  a  sinner,  and  returned  a  saint. 

KANAWHA  COURT  HOUSE,  July  17,  1839. 

212.  SIR,  —  Some  months  ago  I  was  in  company  with 
Mr.  Thomas  Matthews,  one  of  our  old  and  respectable  citi- 
zens. In  the  course  of  conversation  he  related  to  me  the 
following  fact.  "  When  I  was  a  young  man,  in  the  early 
settlement  of  Kentucky,  I  went  to  see  a  friend  who  had  ten 
acres  of  land  which  had  been  covered  with  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  timber,- cut  while  in  the  leaf;  the  brush  had  been 
piled,  and  had  remained  so,  until  the  whole  had  become 
very  dry.  In  the  month  of  August,  after  a  long  dry  season, 
it  was  proposed  to  set  fire  to  the  "clearing;"  the  day  was 
clear,  not  a  cloud  to  be  seen,  and  was  selected  for  its  calm- 
ness, for  fear  the  fire  would  damage  other  property.  Well, 
all  hands  were  called,  fire  obtained,  many  of  us  went  to 
work,  the  leaves  were  so  dry  the  brush  ignited  with  great 
rapidity;  in  a  few  minutes  the  whole  circle  of  the  clearing 
was  on  fire,;  very  soon  a  strong  wind  set  in  from  all  points 
of  the  compass;  the  smoke  and  flame  assumed  an  upward 
gyral  motion  ('like  a  whirlwind]}  a  cloud  was  soon  form- 
ed, and  a  fine  rain  fell  for  some  miles  around.  I  was  con- 
vinced that  rain  was  produced  by  that  are/' 


510  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

He  is  a  man  of  truth,  and  his  statement  may  be  relied  on 
implicitly. 

I  deemed  this  a  case  proving  your  theory  so  triumphant- 
ly, I  have  been  induced  to  give  you  the  facts  as  I  received 
them.  Yours,  truly,  JAMES  A.  LEWIS. 

P.  S.  I  am  well  known  to  many  of  your  merchants  in 
Market  Street ;  Thomas  Shewell,  Field  Fobes,  Richard  Ash- 
trast,  William  Wilson,  &c. 

The  author  waited  on  some  of  these  gentlemen,  and  satis- 
fied himself  that  Mr.  Lewis  was  known  to  them. 


Facts  for  Mr.  Espy. 

213.  The  following  facts  are  distinctly  recollected  as  gen- 
erally admitted,  observed  and  spoken  of  by  my  fellow  citi- 
zens, inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Delaware  and  Otsego, 
in  the  state  of  New  York,  while  I  resided  in  those  counties, 
from  A.  D.  1819  to  A.  D.  1827. 

These  counties  are  situated  on  the  eastern  branch  of  the 
Snsquehannah  river,  by  which  they  are  separated  from 
each  other. 

The  face  of  the  country  is  broken,  hilly,  mountainous, 
and  diversified;  hills  rising  on  hills,  on  either  side  of  the 
river,  till  they  assume  decided  claims  to  the  character  of 
mountains.  This  being  an  outline  of  the  prevailing  face  of 
the  country,  it  will  be  manifest  that  extensive  prospects 
and  landscapes  will  be  commanded  by  the  eye  from  many 
locations.  At  the  time  referred  to,  many  of  the  inhabitants 
were  engaged  in  clearing  their  land  of  the  incumbering 
timber.  Extensive  fallows,  as  they  were  called,  were, 
every  year  prepared  for  the  redeeming  fire,  by  the  indus- 
trious woodman's  axe,  and  were  accordingly  burnt  over  at 
suitable  times  and  seasons.  Or,  in  other  words,  when  the 
timber,  brush  and  combustibles  were  dry,  and  favorable  to 
the  operation. 


ARTIFICIAL  RAIJSS.  511 

1.  As  will  naturally  be  presumed,   the  fallows  were  set 
on  fire  in  dry  weather;  and  as  several  hours,  or  even  a  day 
or  two  were  requisite  for  the  work,  no  fair  prospect  of  rain 
was  waited  for,  before  the  fires  were  set.     Often,  if  there 
was  a  prospect  of  rain  soon,  i.  e.  too  soon  for  the  success  of 
the  fire,  it  was  deferred,  till  dry  weather  again  returned. 

2.  It  was  customary  for  those  who  had  fallows  to  burn, 
to  say,  on  seeing  smokes  from  burning  fallows,  rising  in 
different  directions ;  "  We  must  put  fire  to  our  fallow,  for  I 
see  other  folks  are  burning  theirs;  and  we  shall  soon  have 
rain;  for  it  always  rains  soon  after  people  begin  to  send 
up  their  smokes." 

3.  Fallows  on  fire,  if  extensive,  did  generally  continue  to 
bum  till  extinguished  by  showers  of  rain.     Smaller  fires,  of 
course,  would  subside  by  exhausting  the  combustibles,  be- 
fore a  change  of  weather.     These  storms  or  showers,  as 
nearly  as  I  can  now  say,  were  generally  accompanied  by 
lightning  and  thunder;  and  usually  passed  from  the  south 
west  to  the  north  east. 

4.  It  frequently  occurred  that  while  some  were  burning 
their  fallows,  others  were  engaged  in  haying  and  harvesting. 
When  hayers  and  harvesters  observed  the  smokes  of  fallow 
fires,  they  expected  rain  soon,  and  secured  their  crops,  or 
governed  themselves  accordingly. 

5.  Soon  after  the  snows  were  off  in  the  spring,  I  think 
generally  the  latter  part  of  April,  or  the  early  part  of  May, 
fires  sometimes,  nay,  often,  broke  out  in  the  woods,  raging 
furiously,  sweeping  in  a  few  hours  over  thousands  of  acres 
of  uncultivated  wood   land.     These  fires  generally  set  to- 
wards the  hills  and  mountains,  climbing  them  much  more 
rapidly  than  they  would  run  on  level  or  low  ground.     The 
air  would  set  powerfully  towards  the  hill  tops,  heaving  up 
vast  columns  of  smoke  above   them.     Clouds   soon    after 
formed,  and  rain  succeeded,  to  the  joy  of  an  anxious  popu- 
lation, for  these  fires  often  did  much  damage. 


512  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

6.  Always,  when  the  fires  were  large,   the   wind   was 
observed  to  be  towards  the  fire  from  every  quarter.     When 
the  fires  were  raging  on  the  mountains,  and  the  wind  was 
blowing  powerfully  towards  them  from  the  point  on  the 
side  where  I  was,  I  recollect  to  have  heard  from  the  other 
side  of  the  mountain  that  the  wind  set  strongly  towards  the 
fire  from  that  direction  also,  directly  opposite  in  its  course. 

7.  The  storms  which  followed  these  fires  in  the  woods, 
were  generally  the  first  in  the  season  attended  with  thunder 
and  lightning,  to  any  considerable  extent. 

These  facts  are  now  written  from  memory.  I  believe 
they  may  be  depended  upon  as  substantially  correct.  At 
the  time  I  observed  them  I  had  no  idea  of  their  connexion 
with  meteorology.  So  far  as  I  knew  they  were  not  under- 
stood by  the  inhabitants  generally,  as  related  to  each  other 
as  proximate  cause  and  effect.  I  can  now  refer  to  several 
scientific  gentlemen  in  those  counties,  who  would,  I  believe, 
confirm  the  foregoing  facts,  independent  of  any  consultation 
with  me,  and  without  knowing  that  I  have  expressed  these 
few  simple  facts  on  paper. 

S.  W.  FULLER. 

Philadelphia,  October  28,  1838. 


214.  I  arrived  on  Cote  Blanche,  in  St.  Mary's,  on  the  3d 
of  July  last,  arid  was  astounded  at  the  appearance  of  almost 
absolute  sterility  in  every  direction  around  me.  Our  man- 
ager informed  me,  that  there  had  been  no  rain  since  the  1st 
of  April.  The  corn  was  nearly  destroyed,  the  late  planting 
was  literally  dead  to  the  top.  The  corn  had  improved  very 
little  for  six  weeks.  Every  thing  wore  the  most  gloomy 
and  desolate  appearance.  On  the  4th  and  5th,  several  of 
the  marsh  Islands,  lying  in  the  Bay,  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
distant  from  Cote  Blanche,  became  ignited,  by  the  electric 
fluid,  and  produced  brilliant  fires.  The  total  absence  of 


ARTIFICIAL  RAIJNS.  513 

dew,  a  fact,  which  I  had  never  before  witnessed,  attracted 
my  particular  attention,  —  as  indicating  a  state  of  the  at- 
mosphere still  more  alarming.  The  total  destruction  of  the 
crop  seemed  inevitable.  I  watched,  with  much  solicitude, 
the  appearances  and  changes  of  the  weather.  The  wind 
was  extremely  changeable,  and  showers  appeared  in  the 
horizon  at  almost  every  point.  About  nine  o'clock,  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th,  I  ordered  fires  to  be  set,  at  different 
places,  to  the  marsh,  contiguous  to  the  Island.  The  fires 
continued  to  spread  during  the  day,  and  at  night  presented 
a  most  beautiful  scene. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  a  gentle  breeze  sprung  up 
from  the  east,  and  blew  steadily  from  that  direction  for  sev- 
eral hours,  carrying  the  fire  and  smoke  from  the  Island. 
The  smoke  now  presented  the  appearance  of  a  vast  and 
stupendous  range  of  mountains,  broken  in  abrupt  and  crag- 
gy peaks,  gilded  by  the  rays  of  the  eastern  sun,  and  reflect- 
ing all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  While  the  grandeur  and 
magnificence  of  the  scene  was  occupying  the  attention  of 
myself  and  friend,  at  about  eleven  o'clock,  an  upper  and 
directly  opposite  current  of  wind  sprung  up,  driving  the 
upper  part  of  this  vast  volume  of  smoke  directly  back  in 
the  direction  of  the  Island,  wafting  it  over  a  space  of  at- 
mosphere, perhaps  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  yards  in 
height,  so  singularly  transparent,  as  to  attract  our  particular 
attention  and  remarks.  This  appearance  continued  for 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  when  it  commenced  raining  from 
this  upper  current  of  smoke  through  this  extremely  trans- 
parent atmosphere.  In  twenty  minutes  more,  the  rain  be- 
came heavy  and  general  over  the  whole  Island,  and  con- 
tinued for  three  hours,  with  the  exception  of  two  intervals 
of  a  few  minutes  each.  From  the  whole  appearance,  1  was 
so  well  satisfied  that  the  fire  exercised  a  powerful  agency 
in  producing  the  rain  more  speedily  than  we  should  other- 
65 


514  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

have  received  it,  that  I  expressed  my  intention  of  address- 
ing Professor  Espy  on  the  subject.       With  great  respect, 

B.  G.  TENNEY. 

To  Professor  Espy. 
22d  March,  1840. 

P.  S.     Other  engagements  have  prevented  my  furnishing 
the  above  statement  of  facts  at  an  earlier  moment,   as  I  in- 
tended.    You  will  djscover,   from  the  manner,  that  they 
have  now  been  thrown  together  in  great  haste. 
With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

B.  G.  TENNEY. 


PHILADELPHIA,  5  mo.  15,  1841. 
ESTEEMED  FRIEND, 

215.  At  noon,  on  the  twelfth  day  of  the  sixth  month  last, 
I  set  fire  to  a  clearing  of  six  acres  in  Wharton  township, 
Potter  county,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  what  is  generally 
called  a  clear  day ;  the  sun  shone  brightly,  although  there 
were  a  few  broken  clouds  slowly  moving  towards  the  east. 

After  the  fire  was  well  under  way,  the  wind  began  to 
blow  towards  it,  increasing  after  the  fire  had  arrived  at  its 
maximum. 

The  wind  blew  inwards  from  all  sides,  sometimes  blow- 
ing the  smoke  in  one  direction,  and  sometimes  in  another. 
The  clouds  appeared  to  congregate  and  hover  over  the  fire. 
After  the  fire  became  general  and  the  wind  strong,  I  saw 
no  cloud  cross  over  the  fire,  but  could  see  the  clear  sky  be- 
low the  cloud. 

Some  of  the  neighbors  were  present,  and  appeared  to  be 
alarmed  at  the  violence  of  the  wind  as  it  roared  through 
the  woods ;  it  was  more  violent  than  I  should  have  antici- 
pated, had  I  not  heard  thee  suggest  that  such  would  be  the 
case. 

Nevertheless,  the  rain  did  not  come,  and  my  friends  be- 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  515 

gan  to  smile ;  but  we  had  not  walked  one  mile  northward 
towards  our  lodgings,  (which  was  nearly  two  miles  north 
of  the  clearing,)  before  it  clouded  over  and  began  to  rain  a 
little,  and  at  nine  o'clock  that  evening,  we  had  a  gentle 
shower,  sufficient  to  extinguish  the  fire,  and  then  the  rain 
ceased.  Respectfully,  I  remain  thy  friend, 

SAMUEL  WEBB. 

To  Professor  James  P.  Espy. 


216.  The  battle  of  Dresden,  fought  on  the  26th  and  27th 
of  August:  " On  the  27th,  the  battle  was  renewed  under 
torrents  of  rain,  and  amid  a  tempest  of  wind."     [Scott's 
Napoleon,  chap.  27,  p.  190. 

The  battle  of  Ligny,  fought  on  the  16th  June:  " Af- 
ter the  battle  the  weather  was  dreadful,  as  the  rain  fell 
in  torrents ;  but  this  so  far  favored  the  British,  by  ren- 
dering the  ploughed  fields  impracticable  for  horse,  so  that 
their  march  was  protected  from  the  attacks  of  the  French 
cavalry."  [Scott's  Nap.  chap.  47,  p.  323. 

The  tempest  after  the  battle  of  Ligny,  on  the  16th,  con- 
tinued to  rage  with  tropical  violence  till  the  morning  of  the 
18th,  and  it  continued  gusty  and  stormy  all  day  of  18th. 
p.  326. 

The  battle  of  Eylau,  fought  on  the  8th  February: 
"The  action  commenced  at  daybreak.  Two  strong  col- 
umns of  French  advanced  for  the  purpose  of  turning  the 
right  and  storming  the  centre  of  the  Russians.  But  they 
were  repulsed  in  great  disorder :  the  Russian  infantry  stood 
like  stone  ramparts  and  kept  back  the  enemy  with  a  heavy 
and  well  sustained  fire  from  their  artillery.  About  mid- 
day a  heavy  storm  of  snow  commenced  falling,  which  ad- 
ded to  the  obscurity  caused  by  the  smoke  from  the  burning 
village  of  Serpallen."  [Scott's  Nap. 

217.  Capper,  on  Monsoons,  page  171,  says:  At  Madras, 


516  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS. 

on  the  4th  of  June,  1776,  morning  fair,  noon  cloudy,  in  the 
the  evening  rain.  N.  B.  More  than  two  hundred  pieces  of 
cannon  fired  in  salutes ;  quere,  whether  it  occasioned  the 
rain  ?  This  quere  is  particularly  appropriate,  as  this  is  the 
dry  season  on  the  Coromandel  coast,  and  it  did  not  rain  af- 
ter this  till  the  30th  of  the  month. 

218.  During  the  memorable  siege  of  Valenciennes,  «by  the 
allied  army,  in  the  year  1793,  it  rained  violently  every  day 
soon  after  the  heavy  cannonading  commenced.     The  allies 
employed  two  hundred  heavy  ordnance,  and  the  besieged 
had  above  one  hundred,  and  they  were  frequently  all  in  ac- 
tion at  one  time.     The  rain,  in  the  opinion  of  the  combat- 
ants, was  caused  by  the  shaking  of  the  clouds. 

219.  M.  Arago  mentions  several  cases  to  show  that  great 
fires  and  cannonading  could  not  prevent  thunder  showers. 
One  was  the  Hotel  Montesson,  at  the  end  of  Rue  de  Mont 
Blanc,  which,  on  the  first  of  July,  1810,  was  occupied  by 
Prince  Schwartzenberg.     It  was  the  evening  of  a,  fete  given 
by  the  Austrian  ambassador  to  Napoleon  and  the  Empress 
Maria  Louise.     In  the  middle  of  the  night  an  immense  ball 
room  was  burned,  and  the  vast  columns  of  flame,  over 
which  the  fire  engines  had  little  control,  did  not  ward  off  a 
tremendous   thunder   storm  which  visited   the   immediate 
neighborhood.     The  lightnings  followed  with  frightful  ra- 
pidity, and  illuminated  the  whole  firmament ;  the  thunder 
rolled  without  intermission;    finally,  torrents  of  rain  de- 
scended, which  distinguished  the  last  embers  of  the  fire. 

And  again  M.  Arago  says,  "  I  shall  here  repeat  two  facts 
which  occur  to  my  own  memory,  in  the  hope  that  they  will 
lead  to  analogous  statements.  The  25th  of  August,  1806,  be- 
ing the  day  selected  for  the  attack  of  the  islet  and  fortress  of 
Dannholm.  near  Stralsund,  General  Fririon,  that  he  might 
harass  and  fatigue  the  Swedish  garrison,  ordered  it  to  be 
cannonaded  during  the  whole  day.  In  spite  of  these  pow- 
erful and  continued  discharges  of  artillery,  a  violent  thun- 


ARTIFICIAL  RAINS.  517 

der  storm  visited  the  spot  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
Again,  it  happened,  oddly  enough,  that  the  English  line-of- 
battle-ship,  the  Duke,  of  ninety  guns,  was  struck  with 
lightning  in  the  year  1793,  whilst  it  was  cannonading  one 
of  the  batteries  of  Martinico." 

This  distinguished  philosopher  does  not  express  the  be- 
lief that  great  fires  favor  the  production  of  thunder  show- 
ers, though  he  adduces  facts  which  lean  strongly  to  that 
side  of  the  question. 

[From  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  of  Philadelphia,  June,  1841.] 

Professor  Johnson  drew  the  attention  of  the  society  to 
the  atmospheric  phenomena  attendant  on  extensive  confla- 
gration ;  and  stated,  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  H.  King,  of 
Washington  city,  that  the  burning  of  the  prairies  in  Wis- 
consin and  Missouri  is  frequently,  and  almost  immediately, 
followed  by  rain.  This  observation  had  been  confirmed 
to  Dr.  King  by  other  observers ;  and  in  the  western  coun- 
try it  had  become  a  popular  impression  that  a  prairie-fire 
was  the  forerunner  of  rain. 

Dr.  Coates  had  met  with  a  statement  in  Nichols's  History 
of  Leicestershire,  which  bore  on  the  same  question ;  viz., 
that  in  the  reign  of  one  of  the  Stuarts,  orders  were  sent  to 
a  sheriff  of  Staffordshire  to  discontinue  the  burning  of  the 
Ferns  during  the  royal  progress,  because  the  operation  was 
usually  followed  by  rain. 

Mr.  Phillips  adverted  to  the  memorable  hail  storm  which 
occurred  immediately  after  the  last  great  fire  at  Constanti- 
nople ;  the  fact  being  fully  authenticated  by  Mr.  Walsh  and 
Commodore  Porter.  That  rain  is  common  in  South  Amer- 
ica after  the  burning  of  the  Pampas,  is  familiar  to  meteoro- 
logists ;  and  the  attention  of  the  members  is  especially  so- 
licited to  this  inquiry  in  order  that  a  more  extended  series 
of  facts  maybe  collected  and  compared. 


518  PHILOSOPHY  OF  STORMS, 

These  are  all  the  documents  bearing  on  the  subject  of  ar- 
tificial rains  which  I  have  room  to  publish  in  this  work. 
Let  the  reader  judge  whether  the  experiment  ought  not  to 
be  tried  in  a  scientific  manner,  and  whether  there  is  any 
just  ground  to  ridicule  the  proposition. 


APPENDIX. 


A. 

Original  Documents  of  the  Great  Liverpool  Storm  of  the  6th  and  7th  of 
January,  1839.     See  Section  VI. 

[Shipping  and  Mercantile  Gazette,  10th  of  January,  1839.] 

AT  Arbroath,near  Dundee,  it  blew  extremely  hard  on  the  night  of  the 
Gth,  from  the  S.  and  S.  W.  On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  the  barome- 
ter was  lower  than  it  was  ever  known  before ;  one  tenth  lower  than  on 
the  28th  of  October  last. 

At  Newport,  W.  of  Ireland,  lat.  54,  on  the  night  of  the  6th  it  came 
on  to  blow  a  gale  of  wind  from  the  W.  N.  W.,  and  towards  midnight 
became  a  perfect  hurricane.  At  Belfast,  at  10,  P.  M.,  of  the  6ih,  we 
were  visited  with  a  dreadful  hurricane  from  the  W.,  which  continued 
with  unabated  fury  till  2,  P.  M..  of  the  7th.  On  the  5th,  the  wind  was 
S.  W.,  with  frequent  showers  of  snow. 

At  Dundee,  the  rain  poured  in  torrents  on  the  night  of  the  6th.  On 
the  7th,  the  wind  blew  a  gale  from  the  N.  W.,  and  was  so  all  night  of 
the  6th.  At  8,  A.  INI .,  of  the  7th,  barom.  28.10,  symp.  28.1,  having  fallen 
from  29.75  on  the  6th.  Still  blowing  hard  at  noon  of  the  7th,  N.  W. 

Edinburgh,  Tuesday,  Jan.  8.  On  Friday  and  Saturday  we  were  visited 
by  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  more  especially  on  Saturday,  when  it  was  accom- 
panied with  all  the  aggravations  of  piercing  and  violent  winds,  shifting 
to  every  point  of  the  compass.  Sunday  brought  with  it  a  beautiful  clear 
calm,  with  frost  just  sufficient  to  retain  the  snow  in  a  solid  form.  In  the 
evening,  the  wind  became  piercingly  cold  from  the  east,  for  a  time,  but 
suddenly  changing  to  the  opposite  direction,  a  quick  thaw  commenced, 
accompanied  with  heavy  rain  ;  this  continued  during  most  of  the  night, 
and  early  yesterday  morning  it  blew  a  perfect  tornado,  which  continued, 
with  little'  intermission,  for  many  hours,  during  which  it  was  with  the 
utmost  difficulty  people  could  make  their  way  through  the  streets. 
About  noon,  yesterday,  it  had  become  comparatively  calm,  and  the  snow 
in  exposed  situations  had  long  before  that  time  disappeared.  Between 
Sunday  night  and  yesterday  morning  the  mercury  in  the  barometer  again 
underwent  a  remarkable  depression,  such  as  we  had  lately  occasion  to 
notice,  having  fallen  in  the  instrument  to  one  tenth  of  an  inch  below 
28.  Last  night  we  had  a  return  of  smart  frost.  [Edinburgh  Advertiser. 


520  APPENDIX. 

The  Caledonian  Mercury,  of  the  7th,  (which  I  believe  is  published  in 
Edinburgh,)  says,  "  the  snow  continued  to  fall  heavily  the  whole  of  Sat- 
urday, the  5th,  and  towards  evening,  lay  to  an  average  depth  of  twelve 
inches.  Last  night  (that  is,  the  6th),  the  wind  changed  to  S.  E.,  with 
rain." 

[Shipping  Gazette,  January  10.] 

Stranaer,  S .  W.  corner  of  Scotland,  January  7.  Last  night,  at  midnight, 
it  came  on  to  blow  a  heavy  gale  at  S.  W.,  and  at  4,  this  morning,  it  blew 
a  perfect  hurricane  at  W.  N.  W. 

January  11.  At  Carnarvon,  on  the  night  of  the  6th,  it  came  on 
to  blow  a  tremendous  gale  from  the  S.  S.  W.to  N.  W.,  which  continued 
unabated  almost  till  4  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning. 

At  Whitby,  north  of  York,  the  gale  came  on  W.  N.  W.,  about  2 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  and  continued  a  hurricane  till  after 
daylight. 

At  Londonderry,  north  of  Ireland,  the  snow  which  fell  on  the  5th,  be- 
gan to  thaw  on  the  afternoon  of  the  6th  ;  and  about  11  o'clock  that  night, 
the  wind  shifted  from  S.  W.  to  N.  W.,  when  it  commenced  to  blow 
strong ;  and  after  that,  the  night  was  tremendous.  On  the  8th,  wind 
west. 

At  Cove  of  Cork,  on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  wind  E.  P.  M.,  wind 
W.,  storm  and  rain. 

Lloyd's  List,  January  It.  At  Milford,  S.  W.  of  Wales,  opposite  Wa- 
terford,  it  blew  a  gale  on  the  night  of  the  6th,  from  S.  S.  W.  and  S.  W., 
but  veerred  at  2,  A.  M.,  to  W.  N.  W.,  blowing  a  perfect  hurricane. 

At  Bangor,  west  of  Liverpool,  it  blew  a  very  heavy  gale  on  the  night 
of  the  6th  from  W.  to  W.  S.  W. 

At  Greenock,  it  blew  a  tremendous  gale  on  the  7th,  without  intermis- 
sion, from  W.  N.  W.,  till  evening. 

At  Westport,  on  the  night  of  the  6th,  it  blew  a  terrific  gale  from  S.  W. 
to  W.  N.  W. 

January  12.  At  Strnngford,  it  blew  a  hurricane  on  fhe  night  of  the 
6th,  at  W.  S.  W.,  and  veered  next  morning  to  W.  N.  W. 

At  Shields,  it  blew  a  perfect  hurricane  from  1,  A.  M.,  of  the  7th,  till 
sun  set,  at  S.  W. 

At  Grirnsby,  near  Hull,  it  blew  a  hurricane  on  the  7th,  till  3,  P.  M., 
from  W.  by  S.  to  W.  by  N.,  and  continued  on  the  8th,  W.  N.  W.,  a 
gale  at  intervals. 

At  Bowmore,  Island  of  Islay,  at  4,  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  a  se- 
vere gale  commenced  from  S.  VV.  and  veered  to  N.  W.,  the  gale  in- 
creasing. 

January  15.  The  Guiana  experienced  on  the  6th  a  dreadful  hurri- 
cane, nine  miles  from  Cape  Clear,  S.  W.  of  Ireland. 

At  Portsoy,  it  blew  a  severe  gale  on  the  7th  from  N.  N.  W. 

At  Montrose,  on  the  evening  of  the  6th,  and  throughout  the  next  day, 
it  blew  a  hurricane  from  the  VV:  N.  W. 

At  Annan,  on  the  7th,  it  blew  a  severe  gale  from  S.  W.  to  N.  W. 

January  17.  At  Hamburgh,  on  the  evening  of  the  8th,  it  blew  a  vio- 
lent gale  from  S.  W.  to  W.  S.  VV.,  with  tide  rising  18  feet  —  part  of 
the  town  under  water. 


LIVERPOOL  STORM.  521 

George  Innes'  Journal,  at  Aberdeen. 


156 

Is 

30.0 
24.2 
35.4 
29.3 

33.4 
36.1 
38.2 
31.3 

31.8 
24.7 

38.3 
31.2 

30.5 
36.1 
32.fi 
•28.3 

29.19 
29.355 
27.1545 
28.915 

29.225 
29.05 

28.79 
29.26 

W. 

s.  s.  w. 

N.  N.  W. 
N.  W. 

Mostly  clear;  snow  showers  at  night;    fresh  breeze. 
Clear  till  sun  set  ;   cloudy  at  night  ;   moderate  breeze. 
Heavy  gale  ;   ha.il,  sleet,  and  nun  ;  cloudy  (ill  sun  set. 
Stormy  till   past  noon  ;    mostly  clear  ;   snow  at  night. 

"  The  sudden  fall  and  extreme  depression  of  the  barometer,  between 
last  Sunday  evening  and  Monday  morning,  was  accompanied  with  an 
equally  sudden  change  in  the  weather.  Sunday  had  been  calm,  clear  and 
frosty,  bur,  towards  night,  it  began  to  blow  heavily  from  the  N.  W. ;  and, 
during  the  early  horns  of  Monday,  the  wind  had  increased  to  a  hurri- 
cane, accompanied  with  much  rain.  We  believe  that  the  barometer  has 
never  been  observed  to  be  so  depressed  as  it  was  on  this  occasion.  It 
fell  1.405  inch  during  the  night ;  and  on  Monday,  at  8,  A.  M.,  it  indi- 
cated 27.645  inches ! 

[Hull  Advertiser  of  January  11,  1839.] 

The  storm  came  on  at  Whitby  about  2,  A.  M.,  of  7th,  with  the  wind 
at  S.  S.  W.,  which  kept  traversing  till  it  was  due  west,  when  it  was  sta- 
tionary. At  about  4,  it  was  highest. 

At  Hoston  it  commenced  blowing  very  hard,  about  5,  A.  M.,  of  7, 
from  the  westward.  At  6,  it  blew  a  complete  hurricane. 

[Hull  Gazette,  of  12th.] 

At  Newcastle,  it  commenced  about  1,  A.  M.,  of  7,  from  S.  W.,  and 
continued  with  unabated  fury  throughout  the  day.  The  wind  veering 
round  to  the  northward  about  mid  day,  when  it  was  W.  N.  VV. 

[Liverpool  Storm  of  6th  and  7th  January,  .1839.] 

Times  of  Jan.  16.  At  Cape  Clear,  a  most  tremendous  hurricane  on 
the  6th. 

Times  of  Jan.  13.  Throughout  the  early  part  of  Monday,  the  7th,  the 
wind  was  a  strong  breeze  from  the  S.  VV.  with  squalls  at  London. 

Morning  Chronicle,  of22d.  On  the  6th,  a  dreadful  gale  from  West, 
off  Fern  Islands. 

Chronicle  of  16th.  The  Amanda  was  in  a  hurricane  on  the  6th,  in 
longitude  16°,  coming  from  Newfoundland  to  Cork. 

Times  of  Jan.  13, h.  The  wind  during  the  day  at  Liverpool  had 
been  about  S.  S.  E.,  and  rather  strong.  About  10,  P.  M.,  it  died  away, 
and  the  atmosphere  became  mild  and  warm.  In  a  few  minutes  it  began 
to  blow  with  alarming  gusts  from  the  S.  W.  and  W.  S.  W. 

At  Sunderland,  a  few  miles  south  of  Newcastle,  the  gale  came  on 
early  on  the  morning  of  7th,  wind  about  S.  S.  E.,  arid  continued  to  blow 
very  heavy  during  the  whole  of  the  day,  changing  S.  W.  and  W. 

At  Glasgow,  there  was  a  continued  storm  of  tremendous  character 
from  Thursday  the  3d.  On  Thursday  and  Friday  there  was  heavy  rain, 
accompanied  with  high  wind.  On  Friday  and  Saturday  snow,  very 
heavy  on  Saturday  night.  During  the  day  on  Sunday,  there  was  an  ap- 
parent intermission  ;  but  by  10,  at  night,  the  wind  became  fearful  and 

66 


522  APPENDIX. 

brought  torrents  of  rain.  The  barometer  on  Sunday  morning,  was  ho- 
vering about  "  ram."  In  the  afternoon  it  suddenly  sunk  to  "  much  rain  " 
and  "  stormy,"  and  at  a  quarter  before  four,  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  it 
stood  at  "set  fair." 

At  Whi.ehaven,  N.  W.  of  England.  In  the  afternoon  and  evening  of 
Sunday  the  6th,  the  wind  blew  softly  from  S.  W. ;  but  during  the  night 
it  shifted  to  N.  N.  W.,  and  before  2  o'clock,  it  began  to  blow  a  perfect 
hurricane,  and  continued  till  morning. 

At  Dublin  the  tempest,  such  as  the  oldest  inhabitants  cannot  remember, 
commenced  at  10  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  the  6th,  from  S.  S.  E.,  and  varied 
in  the  course  of  the  night  frequently  from  that  to  S.  S.  W.  Its  fury 
abated  about  six  in  the  morning. 

At  London,  throughout  the  early  part  of  Monday  the  7th,  there  was  a 
strong  breeze  from  S.  W.  wiih  squalls.  About  3,  P.  M.,  there  was  hail 
and  rain,  and  as  night  advanced  the  wind  increased  to  a  gale,  with  heavy 
squalls. 

The  storm  of  Sunday  evening  was  productive  of  much  mischief  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  metropolis. 

At  Chester,  little  south  of  Liverpool,  the  hurricane  was  terrific  on 
Monday  night  from  12  till  2,  arid  a  fearful  continuance  of  the  gale  even 
after  that  hour. 

Narrative  —  second  edition  — page  95.  At  Loughrea,  near  the  mid- 
dle of  west  coast  of  Ireland,  at  (J,  A.  M.,  of  7th,  the  wind  changed  from 
N.  W.  to  W. 

[Leeds.     Mr.  Denny's  Journal.] 

Jan.   7th,  A.  M.,  at  9£  wind  W.  S.  W.  Barom.  min.  28.375 

10  W.N.  W.  28.490 

Hi  W.N.W.  2S.5UO 

12  W.  28.525 

P.  M.,       2|  W.  38.555 

3|  W.  28.575 

4i  W.  28.610 

7  W.  N.  W.  28.710 

10  W.  29.010 

[Belfast  News  Letter  of  llth  Jan.  1839.] 

At  Londonderry  there  had  been  much  snow  for  two  days,  but  no  ap- 
pearance of  storm.  About  12,  on  the  night  of  the  6th,  the  storm  broke 
out,'the  wind  being  then  souih  east  ward  ly,  from  which  point  it  gradually 
veered  to  S.  W.  It  did  not  subside  till  6  next  morning. 

At  Loughrea,  houses  fell  about  11,  P.M.,  from  the  violence  of  the 
hurricane,  and  at  about  6,  A.  M.,  the  wind  changed  from  N.  W.  to  W. 

[Dublin  Evening  Herald  of  Jan.  10.] 

The  town  of  Birr,  near  centre,  little  south,  on  the  night  of  6th,  and 
morning  of  7th,  was  visited  by  the  most  awful  tempest  that  has  perlnips 
ever  occurred  in  Ireland.  The  wind  blew  during  the  hurricane  S.  W. 
by  W.,  and  the  barometer,  so  early  as  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  in- 
dicated the  approaching  convulsion.  While  I  was  at  dinner  my  attention 
was  drawn  to  this  instrument  and  I  found  it  had  fallen  to  28.65,  from 


LIVERPOOL  STORM.  523 

129.1  inches,  at  which  it  had  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  As  the  wind 
sprung  up,  it  fell  to  28.5,  which  was  the  lowest  point  observed  during 
the  tempest. 

Drogheda  Journal,  Jan.  8,  quotes  from  the  Newry  Telegraph,  and 
says,  on  Sunday  night,  at  Newry,  ahout  1 1  o'clock,  the  wind  which  pre- 
viously had  been  blowing  hard  from  the  N.  E.  rose  suddenly  to  a  pitch 
of  fury  rarely  paralleled  in  this  latitude.  It  continued  to  increase  in  vio- 
lence during  the  whole  night,  but  abated  in  the  morning. 

[Drogheda  Journal,  of  Jan.  8.] 

East  Coast  of  Ireland.  Never  in  the  memory  of  man,  has  this  town 
been  visited  by  such  an  awful  storm  as  that  of  Monday  morning. 

About  11  o'clock  on  the  previous  night,  the  wind  rose  from  the  S.  E. 
with  a  degree  of  violence  as  terrific  as  unprecedented,  and  continued  to 
blow  a  perfect  hurricane  until  an  early  hour  next  morning. 

The  Drogheda  Journal  of  12th  January,  1839,  says:  On  Sunday  night 
the  Gth,  the  city  and  county  of  Dublin,  were  visited  by  one  of  the  most 
destructive  storms  within  our  remembrance.  The  weather  during  the 
whole  day,  excepting  only  from  3  till  5  P.  M.  was  very  unfavorable, 
misty  and  cold. 

About  half  past  5,  rain  commenced,  with  a  smart  gale  from  the  south 
and  S.  W.,  which  increased  at  intervals  until  half  past  11,  P.  M.,  when 
it  blew  a  complete  hurricane. 

[Liverpool  Standard,  of  15th  January,  1839.] 

At  Cove,  near  Cork,  during  the  whole  of  the  night  of  the  6th,  it  blew 
a  violent  gale  at  W.  S,  W.,  having  commenced  at  9,  and  terminated 
about  4,  A.  M.,  of  7th. 

At  Waterford,  the  wind  set  in  a  strong  gale  from  the  W.  S.  W.  at  an 
early  part  of  the  evening,  and  gradually  increased  to  an  unmitigated  hur- 
ricane. 

At  Wexford,  south  east  corner  of  Ireland,  we  were  visited,  on  the 
night  of  the  6th,  with  one  of  the  most  violent  hurricanes  from  the  S.  W. 
ever  remembered  by  the  oldest  inhabitant. 

At  Derry,  a  tempest  seldom,  if  ever  surpassed,  commenced  at  11 
o'clock,  P.  M.  on  the  Gth,  with  the  wind  about  S.  E.,  from  which  it  af- 
terwards changed  to  S.  W.  It  was  accompanied  at  intervals  and  at  its 
most  violent  periods,  by  torrents  of  rain,  and  continued  with  little  abate- 
ment till  about  6,  A.  M.,  on  Monday. 

Londonderry  Sentinel,  of  12th,  says,  a  violent  westerly  wind  began  to 
blow  at  Belfast,  about  11,  P,  M.,  of  6th,  which  increased  in  about  an 
hour  to  a  complete  tornado.  The  beginning  of  the  night  was  compara- 
tively calm,  a  considerable  snow  having  fallen  through  the  day  of  the  6th. 

[Shipping  and  Merc  Gazette,  of  January  12th,  1839.] 

Jit  Bowmore,  Island  of  May.  January  7,  a  very  severe  gale  com- 
menced here  this  morning,  about  4  o'clock  from  S.  W.,  and  then  veered 
to  N.  W.,  still  increasing. 

Ballina,  VV.N.  W.,  coast  of  Ireland,  we  had  a  tremendous  gale  of  wind 
here  from  the  westward,  on  the  uight  of  the  6th  January,  1839. 


524 


APPENDIX. 


At  Largs,  near  Glasgow,  on  the  night  of  6th,  it  blew  a  complete  hurri- 
cane from  S.  W.  On  the  7th  at  6,  A.  M.,  the  sloop  Industrious  Helen, 
came  on  shore  here,  and  about  6,  P.  M,,  the  wind  N.  and  moderated. 

[The  Meteorological  Journal  of  J.  C.  Sewell,  of  Sheffield,  for  6th  January, 

1839. 

Barom.  Wind.  Weather. 

4  A.  M.,  28.92  S.  S.  E.  Snow. 

12  noon,  28.85  S.  Rain. 

4  P.  M.,  28.65  E.  S.  E.  Snow. 

[Shipping  and  Merc.  Gazette,  of  llth  January,  1839.] 

At  Strangford,  N.  E.  of  Ireland,  a  most  awful  hurricane  commenced 
on  the  night  of  the  6th,  at  12  from  the  W.  S.  W.,  and  shifted  on  the 
morning  of  7th,  to  W.  N.  VV. 

At  Limerick,  a  very  heavy  gale  of  wind  came  on  from  the  westward, 
about  9,  P.  M.,  of  the  6th,  and  increased  till  midnight,  when  it  blew  as 
tremendous  a  hurricane  as  ever  recollected. 

At  Douglas,  Isle  of  Man,  on  the  night  of  the  7th,  the  harbor  which 
is  usually  dry  at  low  water,  had  from  6  to  7  feet  water  in  it  at  the  hour  of 
low  water. 

[Shipping  and  Merc.  Gazette,  of  12th.] 

Montrose,  January  8th.  The  Marmion  from  Newcastle,  while  taking 
the  harbor  last  night,  with  strong  northerly  wind,  missed  stays  and  went 
ashore  on  the  rocks. 

Campbeltown,  S.  W  of  Scotland,  on  the  night  of  the  6th,  it  blew  a 
fearful  gain  from  S.  W.  to  N.  VV. 

At  Portsoy,  between  Ham ff  and  Fochabers,  E.  of  Inverness,  on  the  7th, 
blowing  a  gale  from  N.  N.  VV. 

Lloyd's  List,  January  8th.  It  blew  a  dreadful  gale  W.  S.  W.  at  Bux- 
ham,  on  the  night  of  6th.  At  Plymouth  it  blew  very  heavy  on  night  of 
6th,  S.  W. 

At  Lovvestoffe,  east  coast,  it  blew  a  heavy  gale  S.  W.  all  night  of  6th. 

Do.  of  9ih.  At  Sheerness,  mouth  of  Thames,  it  blew  very  strong 
from  S.  S.  E.  to  N.  N.  W.  from  6th  to  8th. 

At  Falmouth,  in  Cornwall,  it  blew  a  heavy  gale,  with  violent  squalls 
from  W.  all  night  of  6th. 

At  Swansea,  on  Bristol  Channel,  on  the  whole  of  the  night  of  the  6th 
it  blew  a  strong  gale,  commencing  S.  S.  E.,  and  gradually  veering  to 
W.  S.  W.,  and  at  two  in  the  morning  it  blew  a  hurricane  at  W.  N.  W., 
and  continued  till  6,  A.  M.,  when  it  moderated. 

At  Port  Talhot  the  wind  flew  round  to  N.  VV.  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  blew  a  perfect  hurricane. 

At  Thwaite,  near  London,  by  O.  Whistlecraft. 

January  6.  Barometer,  29.79  to  29.40.  Frost.  Hazy,  A.M.  Over- 
cast, P.  M.,  snow  and  rain,  and,  in  the  evening,  wind  increased.  Tem- 
perature, 30°  to  35°.  Wind  S.  W.,  gentle  in  the  morning.  S.  S.  W., 
fresh  at  noon  ;  and  S.  S.  E.,  strong  at  evening.  From  10  till  12,  night, 


LIVERPOOL   STORM. 


525 


it  gradually  veered  from  S.  S.  E.  to  S.  and  S.  W.,  continuing  very 
strong.  Barometer  rapidly  falling  to  28.98.  Rain  at  times. 

January  7.  Barometer  28.98  to  29.14.  Tremendous  hurricane  from 
W.  S.  W.,  most  violent  here  from  3,  A.  M.  till  6,  A.  M.,  fine  with 
flying  sends  and  cumuli,  violence  gradually  abating  from  6,  A.  M.  till 
noon  ;  but  still  strong,  then  cumuli  and  sun.  Temperature,  33°  to  44°. 
At  8,  P.  M.  a  gale  at  VV.  with  snow  ;  the  wind  now  squally;  and  on 
the  whole  as  strong  as  at  noon,  but  far  less  violent  than  in  the  morning. 
Buildings  and  trees  are  thrown  down  in  many  places. 

January  8.  Gale  at  N.  W.,  and  snow  storm,  7,  A.  M.  Strong  gales 
all  day;  chiefly  clear  and  frosty.  Temperature  29°  to  34°.  Much 
lightning,  evening,  in  the  east  horizon.  Wind  now  W.,  only  brisk. 
Barometer,  29.42  to  29.61. 

Journal  of  James  Fidgen,  of  New  Romney,  S.  E.  corner  of  England. 


Date, 
1839. 

A.  M. 

Barometer. 

A.  M. 

Ther. 

A.  M. 

Winds. 

Barometer. 

Therm. 

Winds. 

Jan. 

Sun.  6 

8o"cl. 

29.63 

noon 

8 

N. 

8 

N  W 

noon. 

}PM 

8p  M 
29.24 

3PM 

BPM 

3p  M 

8PM 

29.62 

41 

42 

Wstly. 

29.61 

44 

44 

N   W 

S  E 

Mon7 

29.05 

29.00 

42 

47 

W  bN 

W  N  W 

29.00 

29.04 

47 

46 

W  N  W 

W  N  W 

Remarks,  &fc. 

Sunday,  January  6th,  A.  M.  Light  winds,  with  rain.  8,  Same 
weather.  Noon,  Strong  Breezes,  and  squally,  W.  P.  M.  3,  Strong 
breezes,  and  squally.  8,  Same  to  midnight.  Strong  gales,  with  heavy 
squalls  of  wind  and  rain. 

Monday,  January  7th.  A.  M.  Strong  gales,  and  squally,  wirh  rain. 
8,  Strong  breezes,  and  cloudy.  Noon,  Same  weather.  P.  M.  Strong 
breezes,  and  cloudy,  W.  3,  Strong  breezes,  with  heavy  squalls  of  wind 
and  rain.  8,  Strong  breezes,  and  fine.  Midnight,  same  weather. 

[Extract  from  the  log  of  ship  Everthorpe,  from  St.  Petersburg  towards  Liver- 
pool, off  the  Skerries  of  Clestron.     Civil  reckoning.] 

January  6,  1839.  This  day  begins  with  strong  winds,  W.  by  N. 
Middle  part,  light  winds,  variable,  with  rain.  Latter  parr,  fresh  breeze, 
N.  VV.  This  Jog  ends  with  midnight,  at  8,  A.  M.  of  7th.  Calm,  at 
midnight  dreadful  gale,  N.  E.,  arid  at  3.30,  A.  M.,  perfect  hurricane, 
N.  W. 

[Shipping  and  Merc.  Gazette,  of  January  8,  1839.] 

At  Sonthwald,  104  N.  E.  of  London.  The  sloop  Young  Susannah 
came  on  shore  at  8,  P.  M.  of  the  6th,  in  a  gale  from  S.  to  E. 

At  Liverpool  the  wind,  which  had  been  S.  E., suddenly  veered  about 
11  o'clock  to  S.  W.,  and  afterwards  to  W.,  blowing  a  complete  hur- 
ricane. 

At  Longhope,  Orkney,  on  the  30th  December,  it  blew  a  perfect  storm 
the  whole  day,  N.  W.,  and  from  1  h.  30  to  2  h.  30,  a  complete  hurricane. 
At  the  same  time,  at  Momrose,  there  was  a  hurricane  from  the  S. 


526  APPENDIX. 

January  9.     At  Llanelly  wind  strong  S.  W.  on  7th. 

At  Bridlington,  York,  .January  7.  Last  night  the  wind  got  to  S.  E. 
blowing  a  gale,  and  fell  moderate  at  midnight,  but  about  3  this  morning 
the  awful  scene  commenced,  the  wind  at  »v. 

At  Seaham,  on  6th,  wind  N.  N.  W.,  with  snow. 

At  Sunderland,  near  New  Castle,  east  coast,  January  7.  This  day  we 
had  a  heavy  gale,  with  the  wind  from  S.  S.  E.  to  S.  W.  and  VV. 

At  Dundalk,  between  Dublin  and  Belfast,  on  6th,  wind  S.  W.     Rain. 

At  Inverness,  on  5th,  a  heavy  fall  of  snow. 

At  Youghal,  E.  of  Cork,  January  5.  The  weather  from  the  30th 
ult.  to  the  4th  inst.  may  be  classed  as  much  alike  each  day,  damp, 
cloudy,  and  foggy,  with  light  rain  at  times,  wind  VV.  S.  W. 

At  Londonderry,  January  5,  wind  W.  with  strong  gales,  and  a  heavy 
fall  of  snow. 

At  Kingstown,  the  morning  of  6th  was  fine,  wind  at  S.  or  S.  S.  E. 

At  Bridlington,  on  night  ofSth,  wind  hard  N.  W. 

At  Workington,  Sohvay  Firth,  Januaiy  7.  It  blew  la?t  night  from 
the  S.,  and  at  this  morning  it  veered  to  the  W.,  blowing  a  complete 
hurricane. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  following  are  such  particulars  as  I  can  now 
give  (unfortunately  riot  having  taken  notes  at  the  time,)  of  the  hurricane 
of  January,  1839. 

The  barometer  on  Saturday  evening  the  5th  January,  stood  at  about 
31  £  inches,  with  moderate  weather.  On  Sunday  morning  the 6th  Januaiy, 
at  about  8,  A.  M.,  a  steady  breeze,  but  moderate,  barometer  having  fallen 
to  about '<J9  inches  since  the  preceding  night.  During  the  morning,  a 
little  rain  began  to  fall,  the  wind  gradually  rose  until  afternoon;  from  3 
to  5,  P.  M.,  much  rain  ;  the  wind  blowing  very  hard  from  VV.  S.  W., 
which  continued  until  7  to  8  o'clock  ;  wind  then  changed,  1  think,  to  S.  E. 
9.  P.  M.,  more  wind  from  about  S.;  10h.,  a  complete  gale  from  W., 
which  kept  increasing  until  £  past  11,  when,  1  believe,  it  blew  from 
S.  VV.  or  VV.  S.  W. ;  from  this  time,  until  3  o'clock  of  Monday  morn- 
ing, it  was  at  its  height,  when  the  wind  remained  about  W. ;  from  this 
time,  the  wind  gradually  subsided. 

The  atmosphere,  during  the  gale,  became  charged  with  a  green  saline 
vapor,  which  was  carried  a  considerable  distance  inland,  having  rendered 
the  water  kept  for  private  use,  so  salt  as  to  be  unfit  for  culinary  purposes. 
Such  was  the  violence  of  the  storm,  that  in  exposed  situations,  persons 
could  not,  during  the  gusts,  walk  against  it,  and-  if  going  before  it,  had 
great  difficulty  in  keeping  their  feet.  I  was,  myself,  twice  blown  in  this 
way  a  considerable  distance;  looking  to  windward  was  also  impossible, 
except  when  the  wind  lulled.  At  these  intervals,  the  following  squall 
might  be  distinctly  seen,  as  a  white  mist  rolling  along  the  water. 

It  appears  the  greatest  force  of  this  storm  was  felt  between  the  coun- 
ties of  Kerry  and  Galway,  on  the  west  of  Ireland.  If  I  can  give  any 
further  information,  I  shall  be  most  happy. 

Believe  rne,  dear  Sir,  yours,  most  truly, 

WILLIAM  MONDAY. 

Kilrusb,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Shannon,  Ireland. 

[Leed's  Intelligencer  of  12th  January,  1839.] 
Sunday  the  6th,  there  was  a  slight  fall  of  snow  in  the  morning ;  and 


LIVERPOOL  STORM.  527 

during  the  P.  M.,  there  were  occasional  showers  of  rain,  the  wind  being 
gentle,  and  tolerably  steady  from  S.  S.  E.  Up  to  8,  P.  M.,  there  was 
no  striking  depression  of  the  barometer,  which  stood,  during  the  day,  at 
about  changeable,  but  the  mercury  descended  more  than  |  an  inch  be- 
tween 9  and  12.  Soon  after  12,  the  wind  began  to  veer  about  from  the 
S.  fcl.  to  S.  W.,  blowing  in  gusts,  which  rapidly  increased  in  violence, 
till  about  2£,  when  it  blew  a  violent  gale  —  blowing  down  chimneys,  &c. 
Salt  was  found  abundantly,  encrusted  on  the  trees,  both  at  Leeds  and 
Manchester. 

Whttty,  Eastern  const  of  England,  by  Henry  Belcher.  Sunday  6th, 
barometer,  29.70,  A.  M.,  thermometer,  25°,  clear  bright  frost,  —  I*.  M.,  a 
thaw,  barometer  falling  to  29.30.  All  night  rapid  thaw,  and  high  wind 
S.  by  £.,  and  the  barometer  falling  rapidly,  (observations  made  at  £  past 
10,  P.M.)  During  the  night,  the  wind  became  more  southerly,  and 
more  violent,  and  towards  morning,  blew  the  most  dreadful  gale  from  the 
S.  by  W.,  experienced  at  Whitby  for  many  years,  (old  people  say  fifty.) 
The  barometer  fell  to  28.40,  at  A.  M.,  on  the  7th,  at  which  time,  the 
storm  was  at  its  height.  The  barometer  then  began  to  rise,  and  by  10 
o'clock,  stood  at  28.60,  the  wind  during  the  day,  continued  gradually 
veering  to  the  north  west,  with  a  return  of  frost.  On  the  morning  of 
the  8th,  the  barometer  had  risen  to  29.40,  the  wind  being  W.  N.  W.,  and 
blowing  fresh. 

Berwick,  East  coast  of  England,  by  James  Forster.  The  wind  was 
W.  N.  W.  in  the  morning  of  6th, strong;  at  10,  it  changed  to  \V.  S.  W., 
fresh.  At  3,  P.  M.,  there  was  a  calm.  At  5,  P.  M.,  it  was  S.  S.  E., 
fresh,  and  continued  increasing  in  that  direction,  till  10,  when  it  changed 
to  S.  S.  VV.,  and  continued  S.  S.  W.,  not  very  violent,  till  7,  A.  M.,  of 
7th,  when  it  got  round  to  W.  N.  W.,  a  violent  gale,  and  continued  W. 
N.  W.,  and  VV.  all  day,  very  violent. 

[Remarks,  on  board  Ship  Scotland,  1839.] 

Saturday,  5th  January,  Sea  Account,  P.  M.  Moderating,  made  sail  as 
ocoa-ion  required  through  the  night,  wind  and  rain  squalls  from  west 
northerly.  At  8,  A.  M.,  wind  veers  to  VV.  S.  W,  and  S.  W.,  tacked  to 
N.  VV.  At  lib.  30,  A.  M.,  blowing  a  gale  from  VV.  S.  VV.,  with  rain, 
reduced  down  to  close  reef  fore  and  main  topsails.  Lat.  49°  18',  long. 
29°  50',  VV. 

Sunday,  6th  January,  Sea  Account,  P.  M.  Heavy  sea,  ship  laboring 
very  hard,  wind  west,  and  continues  through  the  night.  At  8£,  A.  M., 
wind  changes  to  about  N.  VV.  by  N.,  and  blows  a  complete  hurricane ; 
wore  ship  to  VV.  S.  VV.,  water  making  a  clean  breach  over  the  ship. 
Such  a  scene  cannot  be  described,  and  ends  the  same  lat.  49°  48',  long. 
30°  00'. 

Monday,  7th  January,  Sea  Account,  P.  M.  The  first  four  hours,  a 
continuance  of  the  same,  then  moderates,  and  through  the  night,  mod- 
erate and  squally,  making  sail  as  required,  ends  squally  and  baffling, 
from  N.  VV.  Lat.  47°  48',  long.  30°  11'. 

WILLIAM  ROBINS  ox. 

Liverpool,  July  IGth,  1840. 


528 


APPENDIX. 


[The  Shipping  and  Mercantile  Gazette,  of  January  8th.] 

At  Aheravon,  Wales,  the  wind  shifted  from  S.  S.  W.  to  S.  S.  E.  At 
10,  A.  M.  of  (3th,  blowing  hard,  with  rain,  very  dark,  barometer  29.22, 
having  been  on  the  5th,  29.65. 

At  Deal,  it  blew  very  hard  at  night  of  6th,  and  also  on  7th,  W.  S.  W., 
with  squalls  of  rain. 

At  Kamsgate,  East  of  London.  7th.  Throughout  the  whole  of  last 
night  and  to  day,  it  has  blown  hard  from  S.  S.  E.  to  W.  At  8,  P.  M., 
W.  N.  W.,  more  moderate. 

Scowrie,  Scotland,  from  George  Ross.  Upon  the  6th  and  7th,  it  blew 
a  complete  hurricane  in  this  quarter,  with  frequent  showers  of  hail. 
Upon  the  6th,  the  wind  blew  from  S.  W.,  in  the  evening,  it  veered  round 
to  N.  W.,  and  continued  to  blow  from  N.  W.,  until  J2,  at  night. 

I  have  further  to  add,  that  for  many  days  before  the  6th  and  7th  of 
January,  it  was  a  continuation  of  stormy  weather,  the  wind  constantly 
blowing  from  S.  W.  and  W.,  and  sometimes  N.  W. 

Journal  kept  on  board  H.  M.  Packet,  the  Doterel.     From  Kings- 
town, the  6th  of  January,  1839,  to  Liverpool. 


Hours. 

Winds. 

Weather. 

Speed  of  Rate  of 
Engine.   Vessel. 

Sunday,  6th  January,  1839. 

8 

S.  W. 

Fresh    gales    and 

8  h.  44,  P.M.,  received 

cloudy. 

the   Mail   at  Kingstown 

10 

« 

Heavy  gales   and 
squally  with  thick 

quay,   and   proceeded  — 
set  single  reefed  fore  and 

rain. 

mainsails. 

12 

It 

Very    hard    gales 

9  h.  45,  hard  gale,  close 

and  squally,  with 

reefed  fore  and  mainsails. 

rain. 

Monday,  7th. 

2 

W.  S.W. 

Quite  a  hurricane, 

2  h.  A.  M.,  quite  ahur- 

with  rain. 

ricane,  with  a  tremend- 

4 

ii 

ous   sea,   considering    it 

unsafe  to  run   on  a  lee- 

shore,  took  in  the  sails, 

and   rounded  the  vessel 

too,   with   her   head    to 

S".  S.  W. 

6 

W.N.W. 

3  h.  45,  wore  ship  and 

kept    her    head    to    the 

N.  W. 

8 

« 

Very    hard    gale, 

6  h.   shipped   a   heavy 

and  squally. 

sea,  which  washed  away 

the  starboard  round  house 

and  part  of  starboard  bul- 

warks. 

8h.  30,  made  the  Head, 

rearing   E.   S.  E.,  about 

three  miles  —  bore  up  for 

the  harbor. 

9h.  15,  arrived  at  Holy- 

iead,   and   delivered  the 

Mail. 

LIVERPOOL  STORM. 


529 


Viscount  Adore? s  Journal,  near  Limerick,  S.  W.  of  Ireland. 


1839. 
Jan.  5. 

hour.  Bar. 
«,  P.  M.  29  60 

Wind 
N.  W. 

force. 
2 

Snow  last  night,  and  long, 
hail  and  rain  showers  to-day. 

6, 

9,  A.  M.  308 
3,  P.  M.  130 
64,  "  25.9W 
9,  "  724 
11,  «  G42 
12,  « 

S.  S.  E. 
W.  S.  W. 
W.  S.  W. 

1 
1 
3.4 
4.5 
5 
6 

Cumulostrati  and  nimbi,  a 
drizzly  rain,  towards  evening 
clouds  moved  fast  fromW.S.W. 
Wind  began  about  4,  P.  M.  and 
blew  from  11  till  about  4  or  5, 
in  the  morning  a  tremendous 
hurricane,  particularly  remark- 
able for  the  furious  squalls. 
Sky  quite  clear  at  1  1  and  12. 

D.  7, 

8,  A.  M.  29.030 
94,  "  090 
44,  P.  M.  250 
11,  «  380 

W.N.  W. 

W.  N.  W. 

At  8,  this  morning,  wind  down 
to  2  or  3,  but  tremendous 
squalls,  with  snow  and  hail 
storms,  which  Gradually  dimin- 
ished towards  evening 

I  generally  mark  the  wind  by  figures,  from  0  to  5.  The  last  being  a 
regular  full  gale. 

[The  Hull  Times  of  January  18,  1839.] 

There  was  a  tremendous  storm  at  Hamburg,  on  the  night  of  January 
8,  1839. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  second  mate  of  the  Sally,  that  sailed  from 
Kilrush,  dated  January  6.  We  experienced  strong  gales,  and  heavy 
seas,  and  had  proceeded  as  far  as  '21°  west  long.,  being  then  under  close 
reefed  top  sails,  and  reefed  foresail.  At  5,  P.  M.,  the  night  on  a  sudden 
became  extremely  dark,  accompanied  with  a  complete  hurricane,  tearing 
away  the  foretopsail,  and  splitting  the  foresail  all  to  ribbons. 

[Orkney.     Furnished  by  Graham  Hutchison,  Esq.  Glasgow.] 


IBar. 

Dir.l  Force  of  wd. 

Ch;trnctt-r  of 

Bar. 

Dir. 

Force  of  wd. 

Character  of  wea- 

I 10 

of    at  10  o'clock. 

weather. 

10 

of 

at  10  o'clock, 

ther. 

1839  |  A  M 

wd. 

P.  M. 

PM 

Wd. 

P.  M. 

Jan  5, 

2t<.9 

S  W 

.Moderate. 

Snow  showers. 

29. 

\  W 

Strong. 

Snow  drill. 

6, 

999 

s  W 

do. 

do. 

28.8 

S  E 

do. 

Snow  showers. 

7, 

97.7 

N 

do. 

Cloudy. 

28.4 

W 

Very  strong. 

Ruin.  Frost  at  night. 

8, 

28.8 

,  W 

Very  strong 

Snow  showprs. 

29.1 

N  W|  Strong. 

Hail  showers. 

[Extracted  from  Greenock  letter  received  at  Glasgow  Exchange, 
by  G.  Hutchison.] 


Furnished 


January  5,  W.  S.  W.  Strong  gales  with  snow  and  hail. 

6,  W.  S.  W.  and  W.N.W.  Heavy  gales  with  snow  and  rain. 

7,  W.  N.  W.  Heavy  gales  and  heavy  weather  with  rain. 

8,  W.  N.  W.  Moderate  breezes  with  snow. 


67 


530 


APPENDIX. 


[Extracted  from  Meteorological  Journal,  for  January,  1839,  kept  at  the  apart- 
»    \    ments  of  the  Royal  Society,  London.] 

Barometer.  Dir.  of  wd.  Character  of  Weather. 

at  9,  A.  M. 
January  5,  29.682         S.         Fine,  clouds  and  wind  throughout  the  day,  evening  fine 


6,  29.718 

7,  29.072 
8,29.538 

Wind  at  noon. 
Jan.  5,  S.  W. 

6. 

7,W.S.W. 

8,  N.  W. 


W. 


and  starlight. 

A.  M.  overcast ;  light  wind;  rain  early.  P.  M.,  overcast ; 
snow  and  rain  ;  evening,  heavy  rain  with  high  wind. 

A.  M.,  fine,  light  clouds,  very  high  wind,  as  also  through- 
out the  night.  P.  M.,  hail  and  rain,  light  winds ;  even- 
ing fine  and  starlight. 

A.  M.,  fine  and  cloudless,  light  wind.  P.  M.,  dark  heavy 
clouds,  brisk  wind. 


[Extracted  from  Lloyd's  List,  London.] 

Memoranda. 

Holyhead,  7th  Jan.    It  has  blown  throughout  last  night  and  thia  morn- 
5ale  from  W.  S.  W.  to  W.  N.  W.  by  N. 


Chester,  7th  Jan.  About  midnight,  it  commenced  to  blow  a  tremen- 
dous gale  at  south,  but  flew  to  W.  N.  W.  a  complete  hurricane  ;  is 
now  moderating. 

Liverpool,  8th  Jan.  The  gale  continued  with  but  little  abatement  till 
about  3  o'clock  this  afternoon  ;  is  now  nearly  calm. 


[Extracted  from  the  Register  kept  by  Mr.  Thomson,  at  the  garden  of  the  Hor- 
ticultural Society,  at  Chiswick,  near  London.] 

Barometer. 
Max.    Min. 

Jan.  6,    29.735  29.147 


Dir.  of  wind  Character  of  Weather, 

at  1,  P.  M. 
S  S  E     Overcast;  sleet;  rain  at  night  with  wind 


increasing  to  a  hurricane. 

7,  29.343  29.096    .W.  Boisterous. 

8,  29.59229.526    W.  Clear ;  slight  snow. 


Wind. 


Character  of  Weather. 


[Extracted  from  Register  kept  at  Applegarth  Manse,  Dumfries-shire,  by  Mr. 

D  unbar.] 

Barometer. 
9,  A.  M.  8£,P.  M. 
Jan.  6.      29.55      28.99 

7,  28.26      29.00 

8,  29.30      29.40 


S.  W.  Frost  and  snow ;  rain,  P.  M. 

W.  N.  W.     Fearful  storm ;  rain  and  sleet. 
W.  N.  W.     More  calm;  more  snow. 


[Glasgow.     Furnished  by  Graham  Hutchison,  Esq.] 


I 

•ss 

&i 

Direction  of 
wind  at  10, 
A.M. 

Force  of  wind  at 
10,  A.M. 

Character  of  Weather. 

1 

2 

29.9 
29.8 

W. 

W.  N.  W. 

Very  Strong. 
Moderate. 

Showery. 
A  little  rain. 

3 

29.4 

S.  W. 

Do. 

Do. 

4 

29.1 

W. 

Strong  early  A.  M. 

Snow  or  sleet  showers. 

5 

29.2 

W.  S.  W. 

Moderate. 

Much  snow. 

6 

7 

29.3 
28.1 

W.  S.  W. 
W.  S.  W.  or  } 

Light  wind. 
V.stg.  early  A.M. 

Frosty  morning,  rainy  evening. 
A  lit.  rn.  hur.  and  light,  ear.  A.  M. 

W,*        < 

clear  aft.  with  It.  wind  fr.  N.  W. 

8 
9 

29.2 

29.7 

W.  N.  W. 
W.  N.  W. 

V.  stg.  early  A.  M. 
Light  wind. 

A  little  snow  ;   clear  evening. 
Dry,  frosty  and  clear. 

*  S.  E.  wind,  evening  j  bar.  27.9,  at  7,  A.  M. 


LIVERPOOL  STORM. 


531 


gwr'wyaa  ui  en  ^     H     W     w  0^5" 

=11  1  HI  |II  *  I  Hi  | 


g  g  8    3 


SSSS8  8  S|«SSS|3!3  S  S  S    S    S    S  SSS 


3  P  3  P  3    3    B        3  g  B<|  g    g 

''  '*  '^**' 


-     05  COj-p  O-^W  &&&> 

ylop  3  S  P  o  p"p  '"o  p  Sp-p          o  o 


^  s 


S  c»  CD     CD    -  •    n  "  •    n  •?  n  n        V  p  J73  o> 


I  i  P  Pi  I  IB  If  I  a  =1  I  I  I    1   I    I  III 

iWip"iWp?M-g  g  ?m 


333    3 


3 


I 

?s? 


the  wind  was 
trongest. 


ind 
orm 


ime  when  lull  or  aba 
ment  was  obsenred. 


i 

w 

Ii 
1  ^ 

g  I 

a  i 


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«  3 

O  W 

O  M 


g  w 

I  s 

en  W 

H  <^ 

w  w 

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2  g 

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1  § 

S  3 

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t> 
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> 


532  APPENDIX. 


Observations  made  at  the  Northern  Lighthouses  during  the  Storm  of  Janu- 
ary 7th,  1839. 

At  Lismore,  at  four,  A.  M.,  of  7th,  wind  gentle,  S.  VV. ;  barometer 
lowest.  At  eight,  wind,  N.  W.,  tremendous  gale, 

At  Isle  of  Glass,  the  storm  began  at  about  U,  P.  M.  of  6th, and  varied 
with  each  shower,  from  W.  to  N.  W. 

At  Dunnet  Head,  snow  all  day  on  the5ih,  and  at  10,  P.  M.,  of  the  6th, 
it  began  to  snow  again  and  rain  till  about  I,  A.  M.,  when  it  fnired  up, 
and  became  quiet.  At  7,  A.  M.,  of  7th,  barometer  27.35,  and  stood  so 
till  evening,  when  it  began  to  rise  at  9,  P.  M.,27.95.  At  7,  A.  M.  of 
7th,  light  ttir,  S.  E.,  and  cloudy.  At  8,  a  calm,  at  9,  light  breeze  N., 
or  N.  N.  W.,  but  soon  increased  to  a  gale,  and  by  12,  noon,  it  blew  a 
heavy  gale,  and  veered  N.  W  ,  continuing  the  same  till  about  10,  P.  M., 
when  it  abated  a  little.  About  12,  at  night,  barometer  27.98,  hut  soon 
began  to  fall  again,  and  at  3,  A.  M.,  of  8th,  was  27.65,  and  at  that  time 
wind  veered  about  W.,  a  complete  hurricane,  with  thick  snow,  continu- 
ing till  day  light.  Then  abated  a  little,  but  blew  a  gale  all  the  8th,  and 
most  of  the  9th,  N.  W. 

At  Stimhurghead,  snow  and  sleet  at  2,  P.  M.,  of  7th.  At  9,  heavy 
showers  of  snow  and  hail ;  barometer  27.84. 

At  Start  Point,  wind  S.  W.,  on  6th,  with  hail  at  times,  till  about  two, 
P.  M.,  it  blew  a  gale,  and  by  three  tremendous,  but  died  away  in  the 
night.  And  at  8,  A.  M.,  of  7th,  nearly  calm.  It  continued  calm  lilt  be- 
tween 11  and  12,  when  it  began  to  blow  N.  W.,  and  continued  a  most 
tremendous  gale  for  24  hours. 

At  Pentland  Skerries,  the  rain  cleared  off  at  2,  A.  M.,  of  7th,  very 
warm,  48°,  at  4,  A.  M.;  at  9,  A.  !M.,  not  a  breath  of  air  ;  smoke  going 
straight  up.  At  eleven,  A.  M.,  wind  went  round  to  N.  W.,  and  at  noon, 
the  storm  was  strong.  Snow.  Between  6  and  8,  P.  M.,  storm  most 
violent,  but  still  worse  on  the  8th,  nt  3  to  6,  A.  M. 

At  Kinnard  Head,  not  much  wind  till  1,  P.  M.  of  7th,  W.  N.  W.,  vio- 
lent at  3  and  4,  continuing  till  midnight;  then  cleared  and  abated,  but 
increased  ngain  till  5  or  6,  A.  M.,  when  it  was  as  strong  as  before  ;  then 
abated  a  little,  but  blew  a  gale  till  the  evening  of  the  9th. 

At  the  Calf  of  Man,  the  wind  began  to  shift  from  S.  S.  W.,  at  9, 
P.  M.,  and  at  5,  A.  M.,  it  had  got  to  W. ;  it  was  a  gradual  shifting;  it 
was  S.  E.,  on  the  6th,  hour  not  mentioned. 

At  Cape  Wrath,  the  wind  is  marked  N.  W.,  on  the  6th,  gale  and  snow; 
on  the  7th,  N.  W.  storm  and  snow.  - 


B. 

Documents  of  the  Storm  of  the  17 th  of  August,  1840. 
[See  Article  173.] 

Memorandum  of  the  direction  of  the  wind  at  Leeds,  during  the  16th,  17th, 
and  18th  of  August,  1840.     By  James  S.  Marshall. 

J6th.    Wind  S.  W.,  brisk  breeze;  finedny;  a  number  of  cumuli  of 
considerable  height.     About  half  past  4,  P.  M.,  whilst  observing  the  cu- 


AUGUST  STORM. 


533 


muli,  saw  a  S.  E.  current  set  in,  bringing  light  fleecy  cirro-strati  with  it, 
above  the  current  carrying  the  cumuli.  There  was  a  higher  current 
ahont  S.  W.,  carrying  cirro-cumuli  ahove  the  S.  E.  current.  Towards 
evening,  the  sky  was  generally  overcast;  wind  still  S.  W.,  and  diminish- 
ing in  force. 

]7th.  At  8,  A.  M.,  wind  S.  E.  or  S.  S.  E.,  strong,  with  rain.  Heavy 
clouds,  at  a  moderate  height,  were  at  this  time  moving  from  the  S.  VV. 
About  1,  P.  M.,  or  rather^ooner,  wind  changed  to  S.  S.  W.  and  S.  W., 
and  increased  in  force;  clouds  above  moving  from  VV.  Wind  gradually 
veered  to  W.,  and  about  1 1,  P.  M.,  due  W.  and  at  its  greatest  strength  ; 
clouds  moving  from  N.  W. 

18th.    In  the  morning,  wind  N.  W.,  strong,  but  less  so  than  the  pre- 
ceding evening;  veered  during  the  day  to  N.  N.  W.  or  nearly  N. ;  sky 
during  the  day,  generally  clear. 
Barometef  at  Philosophical  Hall,  supposed  about  90  to  100  feet  above  the  sea. 

'JO,  A.  M.  10,  P.M. 

16th,        29.835  29.060 

17th,        28.700  28.725 

18th,        29,180  29.415 

1  wrote  down  memoranda  of  the  above  at  the  time,  which,  being 
mislaid,  the  above  is  written  from  memory. 

JAMES  S.  MARSHALL. 

[Furnished  by  Dr.  Harwood,  Sheffield  ] 

Mr.  Heppenstall  says  the  wind  began  on  the  16th,  early,  blowing  from 
the  S.  S.  by  W.,  and  continued  all  day,  varying  toward  the  S.  ;  and  so 
till  morning,  when  it  varied  to  the  S.  S.  by  E.,  and  continued  so  most 
of  the  day.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th,  it  had  got  round  to  the  E., 
and  subsided  about  noon.  It  was  the  strongest  about  noon  of  the  17th. 
It  rained  heavily  most  of  the  time. 

[Hyde,  near  Manchester,  by  D.  Green.] 


Barometer. 

Thermometer 

Wind. 

Weather. 

in  the  shade. 

9        12         4 

9        12          4 

A.M.  Noon.  P  M 

A.M.  Noon.   P.M 

A.M.  Noon.  P.M. 

Ifith 

'29  50  29  50  29.60 

57        53         58 

N.W.    W.    N.W. 

Fresh  breeze. 

1  6th 

2<>.6()  29-60   2950 

55        62         57 

S.  W.    S.W  S.  W. 

Moderate  g:ile. 

17th 

28.7    28.7     28.3 

55       48         43 

S.  W.     W.      W. 

Rain,  snow,  hail. 

Meteorological  Register,  for  the  Port  of  Liverpool. 

16th,      Morn.      W.  N.  W.      Bar.  29.98      Ther.  57      Moderate  breeze  and 

cloudy. 

"         Even.       W.  S.  W.  29.98  65£     Moderate  breeze  and 

cloudy. 

17th,      Morn.       S.  S.  W.  29.70  58      Fresh     breeze     and 

cloudy. 

«         Even.       N.W.  29.21  52      A  gale,  cloudy,  with 

showers. 

18th,      Morn.       W.  N.  W.  2921  54      Blowing  fresh,  dark 

weather  and  contin- 
ual heavy  rain. 

«         Even.       W.  N.  W.  29.23  60      Fresh    breeze,    dark 

W.  with  rain. 


534 


APPENDIX. 


Point  of  Ayre  Lighthouse,  lat.  54°  25',  long.  4°  22'.  Rain  from  llth 
August,  1840,  till  18th,  except  13th,  — wind  westerly  all  the  time, — 
S.  W.  on  16th,  a  gale  — N.  W.  on  17th,  gale  — 16th  and  17th,  dreadful 
days,  rain  1.19  inches  —  barometer  on  17th,  9,  A.M.,  28.88—9,  P.  M., 
28.97,  —  evening  before,  29.42. 

At  Corsewell,  lat.  55°  1',  long.  5°  V,  on  16th,  S.  breeze,  rain.  At  7, 
P.  M.,  W.  On  17th,  N.  N.  W.  storm  rain,  1.40  inch,  (probably  mea- 
sured in  A.  M.)  On  18th,  N.  W.  breeze,  haze,  1.85,  (probably  preceding 
night  and  day.) 

[Largs,  near  Glasgow,  Scotland,  by  Graham  Hutchison,  Esq.] 


-a" 

•s 

a, 

3 

o~ 

cT 

8 

yjayj 

itest  co 

_S 
"co 

•s 

"3 

°  cT 

tsa 

11 

Character  of  Weather. 

1840. 

2 

1) 

5 

s 

3 

*- 

a 

* 

3   0 

3 

August       H, 

52 

66 

14 

29.3 

60 

S.  W. 

Light. 

Cloudy,  but  dry  A.  M., 
a  shower,  P.  M. 

15, 

51 

67 

16 

29.5 

60 

N.  W. 

Moderate. 

Dry  and  clear. 

16, 

53 

6b 

15 

29.6 

61 

S.  W. 

Strong. 

Cloudy,   A.   M.,  rain, 

P.  M. 

Wind,         17, 
S.  W.  at  3, 

48 

57 

9 

28.9 

49 

N.  N.W. 

very     > 
strong.  5 

Very  rainy  and  stormy 
all  day. 

P.M.,     18, 

49 

66 

1.7 

29.2 

60 

N.  W. 

very  ) 
light.) 

Dry  but  cloudy. 

19, 

54 

66 

12 

29.6 

59 

S.  W. 

Moderate. 

Dry  but  cloudy 

NOTE.  Heavy  rain  commenced  on  the  16th,  at  3,  P.  M.,  wind  S.  W.,  and 
rather  strong  (at  Largs).  A  heavy  storm  of  wind  from  N.  N.  W..  accompa- 
nied with  constant  heavy  rain,  commenced  on  the  17th,  at  7  o'clock,  A.  M., 
and  continued  without  alteration  in  the  direction  of  the  wind,  till  8,  P.  M., 
when  it  subsided.  The  direction  of  the  wind  did  not  change  till  next  day  (the 
18th),  at  3,  P.  M.,  having  been  nearly  calm  for  seventeen  hours  previously. 


Mull  of  Kintyre,  lat.  55°  197,  long.  5°  49',  W.— Rain  on  16th  and  17th, 
1.45  inch  ;  wind  variable  on  16th;  breezes  on  17th,  N.  W. ;  gale  on 
18th,  N.,  breeze,  fog.  Bar.  at  9,  A.  M.,  of  17th,  28.80;  9,  P.  M., 
28.70;  9,  A.M.,  18th,  29.15.' 

Pladda,  lat.  55°  26',  long.  5°,  7'.— 15th,  S.  W.,  gale,  rain  ;  16th,  S., 
gale,  rain  ;  17th,  N.  W.,  breeze  ;  18th,  W.  N.  W.,  light  airs ;  rain,  in  all, 
2.10  inch.  Bar.  9,  A.  M.,  17th,  29.90  (28.90  ?) ;  9,  P.  M.,  28.50. 

The  Shipping  and  Mercantile  Gazette  of  21st  of  Aug.  says  —  The 
wind  at  Greenock  on  the  16th  was  S.  W.,  and  on  17th,  N.  and  N.  W. ; 
and  the  same  paper  of  20th,  says  the  wind  at  Arbroath,  N.  E.  of  Edin- 
burgh, was  N.  E.  on  the  17th. 

Lismore,  lat.  56°  307,  long.  5°  38'.— On  15th  N.  W.,  breezes,  showers; 
on  16th  S.  W.,  strong  breeze  and  rain  ;  on  17th  N.  W.,  gale,  rain,  haze ; 
on  18th  N.  W.,  light  breeze,  haze  ;  rain,  in  all,  1 .34  inch.  17th,  9,  A.  M., 
bar.  29.05;  9,  P.  M.,  28.90. 


DECEMBER  STORM.  535 


[From  William  Smith.] 

SIR, — I  learn  that  you  are  anxious  to  obtain  information  from  various 
quarters,  the  direction  the  wind  was  in  on  Monday,  the  17th  August.  I 
have  to  state  that,  at  Dumfermline  and  Kirkaldy,  in  Fife,  at  7  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  it  was  direct  N. ;  but  that,  up  till  2,  P.  M.,  it  increased  to  a  gale, 
veering  to  the  N.  E.,  when  at  Kirkaldy  it  cleared  up  and  subsided.  On 
Tuesday *the  wind  was  moderate  from  the  same  direction,  and  the  day 
fine. 

Edinburgh,  Aug.  16th,  1840.  Wind  became  strong  at  4  1-2,  P.  M.,  S., 
10  pounds  to  foot  on  Osier's  anemometer;  between  7  and  8,  13  pounds  ; 
and  between  8  and  9,  18  pounds  ;  it  then  died  away  till  between  6  and  7, 
A.  M.,  of  17th,  when  it  sprung  up  from  the  N.  N.  E.,  increasing  to  6 
pounds  a  little  before  8.  It  then  became  moderate,  eastwardly,  till  2, 
P.  M.,  when  it  increased  again  to  6  or  8  pounds,  between  4  and  6, 
N.  N.  E.  Next  morning  it  was  N.  by  E.,  from  4  to  5  pounds.  It  be- 
gan to  rain  a  few  minutes  after  10,  P.  M.,  of  16th,  and  by  4  1-2,  A.  M., 
of  17th,  it  had  rained,  without  intermission,  one  quarter  of  an  inch,  and 
by  8,  nearly  another  quarter,  when  it  stopped  till  near  10;  then  it  rained 
hard  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  till  1,  P.  M.,  when  it  ceased. 

Berwick,  (furnished  by  the  P.  M.,  James  Foster.)  At  4,  A.  M.,  Aug. 
17th,  wind  strong,  S.  by  E. ;  at  6,  strong,  S.  S.  E.,  and  so  till  12,  M. ;  at 
1,  P.  M.,  strong,  S.  E.,and  so  till  6,  P.  M. ;  at  7,  strong,  E.  by  S. 


C. 

Storm  of  December  I5th  and  16th,  1839. 

[See  Articles  145  and  146.] 
[Norfolk  Herald,  December  23,  1839.] 

1.  While  a  most  destructive  hurricane,  from  N.  E.  to  E.  was  deso- 
lating the  coast  to  the  east  of  us,  on  Sunday  the  15th,  we  had  a  bright 
sunny  day,  and  a  keen  N.  W.  wind,  all  day. 

2.  Journal  at  Capitol  Hill,  Washington  City.     Wind  at  3,  A.  M.  of 
15th,  S.  W.,  light.    At  9,  westerly,  moderate.    At  3,  P.  M.,  westerly, 
fresh.     At  9,  P.  M.,  north  west,  fresh.     Barometer  lowest,  29.676  at 
3,  P.  M.,  having  fallen   from  29.98  in  24  hours.     On   the  evening  of 
14th,  wind  S.  E.,  «vith  0.38  inches  of  rain.     On  16th,  wind  W.  N.  W., 
at  9,  A.  M.,  a  gale.    Barometer,  29.82.     At  9,  P.  M.,  wind  fresh,  west. 
Barometer,  29.98. 

The  Montreal  Herald  of  17th,  says,  During  14th  and  15th  there  was  a 
plentiful  fall  of  snow. 

3.  At  Cape  May,  mouth   of  Delaware,   Mr.  Miller  says,   the    wind 
on  15th  was  N.  W.,  cloudy,  with  rain,  squally. 

4.  Harrisburgh,  Pa.     Wind  northerly  all  day. 


536 


APPENDIX. 


Thermo. 

Winds. 

Weather. 

Rain. 

/ 

g- 

a 

d 

? 

< 

B4 

A.M. 

P.M. 

A.M. 

P.  M. 

Gage. 

5.  Concord,  ErieCo. 

14 

i') 

3d 

31 

S.  E. 

S.  E. 

cloudy 

snow 

Lat.  42  30 

15 

20 

28 

2U 

S.  W. 

W. 

cloudy 

snoxv 

Long.  79 

10 

20 

2r> 

24 

N.  W. 

N. 

snow 

cloudy 

6.  Fredonia. 

14 

32 

39 

35 

S  W 

S.  W. 

cloudy 

snow 

* 

Lat.  42  26 

15 

2330 

28 

w. 

S  W. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

Long.  79  24 

10 

25 

32 

21  i 

w. 

w. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

7.  Lewiston. 

14 

27 

31 

28 

s. 

E. 

cloudy 

snow 

~\ 

N.  W. 

15 

20 

2f, 

23 

s.  w. 

S.* 

cloudy 

sn«»w 

V0.13 

corner 

10 

24 

20 

25 

s. 

s. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

V 

ofState 

8.  Steuben. 

14 

22 

3(5 

30 

s. 

s. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

Lat.  42  30 

15 

2(5 

2^ 

20 

N.  W. 

N.  W. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

Long  7720 

10 

22 

2^ 

22 

N.  W. 

N.  W. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

8£.  Monroe. 

14 

31 

35 

33 

S. 

E. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

Lat.  43  06 

15 

30 

28 

27 

w. 

W. 

snow 

snow 

Long.  77  39 

10 

27 

2(5 

21 

N. 

N. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

9.  Homer. 

14 

22 

34 

28 

S.  W. 

S.  E. 

cloudy 

snow 

Lat.  42  38 

15 

29 

32 

23 

s.  w. 

N.  W. 

snow 

snow 

Long.  76  11 

1(5 

27 

28 

23 

N.  W. 

N.  W. 

snow 

snow 

10.  Utica. 

14 

3038 

3(5 

E. 

E. 

fair 

fair 

•\ 

Lat.  43°  6'  49" 

15 

2031 

24 

W. 

W. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

S0.41 

snow 

Long.  75  13 
10i.  Cherry  Valley 
Lat  4248 

10 
14 
15 

3027 
2530 

2025 

24 
30 
24 

W. 
W. 
W. 

W. 
W. 
W. 

cloudy 
cloudy 
snow 

cloudy 
fair 
snow 

1.33 

Long  75  06 

10 

2324 

22 

W. 

W. 

cloudy 

snow 

11.  Oneida. 

14 

25 

38 

3(5 

S.  W. 

W. 

snow 

snow 

snow 

Lat.  43°  8'  15" 

15 

2^ 

30 

29 

w. 

W. 

fair 

fair 

1.00 

on  12, 

Long.  1°46/51 

10 

31 

30 

33 

w. 

W. 

fair 

fair 

13,  14. 

E.  of  Washington 

12.  Rochester. 

14 

28 

33 

W 

E. 

E. 

fair 

cloudy 

|ll 

Lat.  43  08 

15 

2824 

22 

W. 

W. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

r.-s 

Long.  77  51 

10 

20 

2.* 

20 

N.  W. 

N.  W. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

* 

pi} 

13.  Lowville. 

14 

6 

30 

31 

W. 

W. 

fair 

fair 

. 

fill 

Lat.  43  47 

15 

30 

31 

20 

N. 

N. 

snow 

snow 

>0.82 

Long.  75  33 

10 

20 

2<  i 

21 

N. 

N. 

cloudy 

snow 

} 

14.  Governeur. 
Lat.  44  25 

14 
15 

123 

19|20 

21 

2') 

S. 

N. 

N. 
N. 

fair 
snow 

cloudy 
snow 

V1.28 

Long  75  35 

16 

24 

23 

21) 

N. 

N. 

cloudy 

snow 

\ 

15.  Plattsburgh. 

14 

20 

2s 

22 

N. 

N. 

fair 

cloudy 

Lat.  44  30 

15 

26 

2* 

24 

N. 

N. 

snow 

snow 

Long.  73  30 

10 

2428 

20 

N. 

N. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

16.  NTGranville. 

14 

2833 

27 

N. 

N. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

Lat.  43  20 

15 

27 

28 

25 

N. 

N. 

snow 

snow 

100 

Long  73  20 

]( 

20 

35 

25 

N. 

N. 

fair 

fail- 

18.  Lansingburgh 

14 

2(5 

3- 

28 

W. 

W. 

fair 

fair 

Lat.  42  46 

15 

30 

32 

32 

N. 

N. 

snow 

snow 

1.42 

Long.  73  44 

K 

32 

35 

32 

N.  W. 

N.  W. 

cloudy 

cloudy 

19.  Newburg. 

14 

IH 

33 

21 

S. 

S. 

fair 

fair 

Lat.  41  30 

15 

10 

2(5 

15 

W. 

W. 

fair 

fair 

Long.  74  35 

H 

13 

24 

19 

w. 

N.  E. 

cloudy 

snow 

0.31 

20.  New  York,  by 

17 

N.bW. 

N.W.b 

Mr.  Redfield. 

strong 

W.hard 

gale. 

21.  Mt.  Pleasant. 

14 

32 

42 

2D 

N.  W. 

N.  W. 

fair 

snow 

^ 

Lat.  41  09 

15 

30 

33 

32 

N.  W. 

N.  W. 

snow 

snow 

Si.  26 

Long.  73  47 

10 

28 

32 

32 

N.  W. 

N    W. 

snow 

snow 

) 

DECEMBER  STORM.  537 

17.  At  Albany  and  Troy,  says  Mr.  Redfield,  the  wind,  late  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  according  to  my  best  information,  was  somewhat  eastward 
of  north. 

The  Albany  Daily  Journal  says,  Since  10  o'clock,  P.  M.  of  14th,  till 
now,  (evening  of  15th,)  the  snow  has  been  falling  uninterruptedly.  The 
trees,  streets,  and  houses,  are  all  arrayed  in  the  white  livery  of  winter, 
and  the  Evening  Journal  says  the  snow  has  fallen  three  feet  deep. 

22.  Benjamin  Topliffhas  furnished  me  with  the  log  of  schooner  Ve- 
locity, in  lat.  36  44,  Ion.  69  3,  which  had  the  wind,  on  the  morning  of 
the  15th,  from  the  S.  S.  W.  and  S.  S.  E.  —  wind  not  given  in  the 
afternoon. 

It  would  be  highly  desirable  to  know  how  the  ship  Morrison  had  the 
wind  on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  up  to  noon.  Mr.  Redfield  says  she 
was  in  lat.  39  35,  Ion.  71  38,  at  sunset  —  a  violent  gale,  wind  VV.  N.  W. 

23.  Also,  Mr.  Joseph  Congdon,  of  New  Bedford,  has  sent  me  an 
"  extract  from  the  log-book  of  brig  J.  Munroe,  which  arrived  at  that 
place  on  the  30th  December,  which  was  S.  of  Long  Island,  in  about  lat. 
39  or  40,  for  many  days  before  and  after  the  15th.     The  longitude  is  not 
given;  but  it  was  probably  between  73  and  74.     Indeed,  it  is  almost 
certain  that  she  was  a  short  distance  W.  of  Culloden  Point,  as  the  wind 
changed  round  from  E.  S.  E.  to  W.  N.  W.  one  hour  with  her  before  it 
changed  at  Culloden.     "On  the  morning  of  the  14th  she  had  strong 
gales  N.  W.  by  W.     At  1,  P.  M.,  calm  ;  at  6,  P.  M.,  wind  S.  E.,  thick, 
rainy  weather;  at  3,  A.  M.,  of  15th,  E.  S.  E.,  strong  gales  and  rainy; 
at  9,  do.,  heavy  gales ;  wore  ship  to  S.  W.,  and  hove  to  at   11,  wind 
W.  N.  W.     At  12,  lat.  40  18.     The  brig  did  not  make  sail  till  21st,  in 
lat  37  50,  long.  73  41,  and  the  storm  continued  till  the  17th,  A.  M.. 
N.W.    ' 

24.  I  have  received  Capt.  Green's  account  of  the  wind  at  Culloden 
Point,  on  the  west  side  of  Long  Island,  some  miles  south  west  of  Mon- 
tauk  Point,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  land,     "  On  the  15th,  from 
7  to  12,  A.  M.,  wind  N.  E.     Snow  from  8,  P.  M.,  of  preceding  evening. 
At  12,  M.,  wind  suddenly  veered  N.  W.,  and  continued  near  that  point 
till  Tuesday  noon." 

25.  The  New  Haven  Daily  Herald  of  16th  says :  «  About  7,  P.  M.,  of 
14th,  snow  commenced  and  continued  till  next  evening.     About  12,  of 
15th,  Boreas  is  beginning  to  pipe  from  the  N.  W.  a  tune  of  icy  coldness. 
The  snow  fell  very  much  and  level,  about  20  inches  deep;  not  much 
wind  at  the  beginning." 

[By  Benjamin  Pendleton.] 

26.  At  Stonington,  during  the  most  of  the  day  and  the  greatest  vio- 
lence of  the  storm,  the  wind  varied  from  E.  N.  E.  to  N.  N.  E.,  strong 
and  heavy. 

At  Block  Island  it  was  E.  N.  E.,  moderate,  and  20  miles  to  the  south 
of  Block  Island  was  east  southerly,  moderate  gales  and  strong  breezes. 

[By  James  Mitchell.] 

27.  Nantucket.     Saturday  afternoon,  the  14th,  it  was  nearly  calm? 
light    air   northerly,  clouds    increasing,    thickening   especially   in    the 
west.     During  the  night  the  wind  came  from  the  eastward,  and,  in  the 
morning  at  7,  was  about  N.  E.,  blowing  a  heavy  gale,  but  no  part  of  the 

68 


538  APPENDIX. 

gale  was  considered  as  extremely  heavy.  It  rained  and  snowed  vio- 
lently during  the  forenoon,  the  wind  veering  to  the  E.,  and  is  given  by 
Mr.  Folger  at  E.,  at  noon.  About  1,  P.  M.,  it  being  very  dark,  wind 
S.  E.,  and  blowing  the  hardest,  there  were  several  claps  of  thunder, 
one  sharp  flash  of  lightning,  attended  with  rain  and  large  hail  stones. 
In  30  minutes  or  less,  from  this  time,  the  sun  made  its  appearance,  the 
wind  having  changed  to  S.  S.  W.,  and  became  quite  moderate.  There 
was  no  rain  during  the  afternoon.  It  was  overcast,  the  clouds  light, 
of  yellow  brown  appearance,  similar  to  those  we  notice  after  a  thunder 
storm  in  summer,  at  times. 

METEOROLOGICAL    JOURNAL. 

Nantucket,  Dec.  16th,  1839. 

Days  of  Ots.        Hours  of  Obs.  Bar.  Therm.  Course  of  Wind.         Weather. 

14  7,  A.M.         29.99          33  W.  N.  W.         fair. 

12,  M.          29.97          37  N.  W.  do. 

9,  P.  M.          29.93          32  N.  E.  do. 

15  7,  A.M.          29.53          36  E.  rain. 

12,  M.          29.13          42  E.  do. 

9,  P.M.          29.05          36  S.  W.  fair. 

16  7,  A.  M.         28.96          38  N.  E.  cloudy. 

12,  M.  29.03          44  N.  N.  E.  fair. 

9,  P.  M.   "     29.32          35  N.  rain. 

28.  At  Provincetown,  near  the  north  extremity  of  Cape  Cod,  the  gale 
was  most  severe  from  11  to  4,  P.  M.,  on  Sunday;  its  direction,  by  col- 
lating the  accounts,  would  appear  to  have  been  from  E.  S.  E.    During 
the  night  following,  the  wind  is  stated  to  have  been   moderate,  and  all 
round  the  compass.     This  was  the  central  lull,  as  the  storrn  was  re- 
newed on  the  following  morn  ing,  as  well  as  at  the  above  mentioned 
places. 

[By  S.Rodman,  Esq.] 

29.  New  Bedford.    14th,  wind  N.  W.  at  2,  P.  M.,  and  at  sunset  and 
10,  P.  M.,  eastward,  light.     15th,  at  sunrise,  eastward,  fresh,  and  snow  ; 
at  2,  P.  M.,  E.,  very  high;  at  sunset  S.  S.  E.,  high  ;  at  10,  P.  M.,  south- 
ward, light.     16th,  at  sunrise,  N.  E.,  fresh  ;  at  2,  P.  M.,  N.,  high  ;  at  sun- 
set N.,  high ;  at  10,  P.  M.,  N.  W.,  high  ;  snow  storm  all  day  16ih  and 
17th;  2.33  inches  in  water.    The  barometer,  on  morning  of  14th,  30.07; 
morning  of  15th,  29.53 ;  at  10,  P.  M.,  of  15th,  29.11 ;  on  the  morning  of 
16th,  29.14,  and  at  10,  P.  M.,  29.53. 

30.  At  YVoonsocket  Falls,  fifteen  miles  N.  of  Providence,  Mr.  Green's 
Journal  gives  the  wind  N.  E.  till  6,  P.  M.,  then  E.     Great  snow,  3. .5° 
inches  of  water  when  melted.     Barom.  28.41  at  noon  of  16th;  mini- 
mum not  given.     Snow  continued  on  16th,  wind  N.  E.    On  15,  at  noon, 
barorn.  28.45, 

31 .  The  Boston  Courier,  of  the  18th  Dec.,  says :  "  We  learn  from  Cap- 
tain Slemmer  that  he  was  off  the  pitch  of  Cape  Cod,  on  Friday,  P.  M., 
when  he  took  a  gale  from  W.  N.  W.,  and  was  blown  off  about  80  miles. 
On  the  15th,  2,  A.  M.,  he  had  a  light  breeze  from  E.  S.  E.     At  5,  it 
freshened,  with  snow.    At  11,  he  made  Cape  Cod  again,  and  was  obliged 
to  reef  down  close  ;  his  barometer  standing  then  at  29  5.10.     Passed 
Race  Point  at  noon,  stood  over,  and  made  Sandwich  at  2,  P.  M.,  it  then 
blew  a  hurricane  from  E.  S.  E." 

The  same  paper  of  the  17th,  says:  "From  Barnstable.  —  A  gentle- 


DECEMBER    STORM.  539 

man  who  left  Barnstable  in  the  stage  early  yesterday  morning,  informs 
us  that  the  storm  at  that  place  was  neither  severe  nor  disastrous.  At  7 
o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  the  wind  was  at  N.  E.,  with  some  snow, 
which  soon  changed  to  rain.  It  blew  freshly  during  the  forenoon,  but 
not  sufficiently  strong  to  occasion  any  damage  ;  and  in  the  afternoon  the 
wind  came  round  to  E.  and  S.  E.,  *and  was  S.  at  sun  set,  rather  mild, 
and  stars  were  visible  in  the  evening." 

"  31-i.  Schooner  Friend,  from  Boston  to  N.  Y.,  on  Saturday  the  14th, 
at  7,  A.  M.,  passed  Sandy  Point,  Nantucket,  with  gales  W.  N.  W.  all 
day,  till  half  past  four,  when  it  died  away  and  became  calm.  At  10, 
P.  M.,  commenced  fresh  gales  from  E.  N.  E.,  and  continued  on  the 
morning  of  the  15th,  with  snow  and  rain,  continuing  to  increase  to  a 
hurricane,  with  snow  and  hail.  At  3,  P.  M.,  began  to  moderate  ; 
breakwater,  mile  and  a  half  astern.  At  midnight,  on  the  16th,  N., 
fresh  breezes.  At  8,  A.M.,  thickened,  wind  veering  to  the  eastward. 
At  8  h.  30,  commenced  snowing,  wind  E.  N.  E.  We  hauled  to  the 
northward  for  Tarpauline  Cove.  Continued  to  storm  through  the  day, 
wind  heavy  from  N.  E.  by  N.  At  midnight,  cleared  up,  and  wind 
hauled  to  N.  N.  W.  At  7,  on  the  17th,  weighed  anchor,  and  at  9  h.  30, 
passed  Elizabeth  Islands.  Ship  all  this  time  was  E.  of  New  Bedford 
and  N.  of  Nantucket." 

This  log  was  kept  by  Edward  S.  Johnson,  U.  S.  N. 

32.  The  Boston  Atlas  of  the  16th  Dec.,  says :  "  A  snow  storrn  com- 
menced yesterday  morning  about  3  o'clock,  and  continued  until  2,  P.  M., 
when  it  commenced  raining,  with  a  violent  gale  from  the  N.  E.,  which 
lasted  till  7,  P.  M.  The  wind  then  shifted  to  the  S.,  and  the  gale  abated, 
but  still  raining." 

[Dorchester,  (two  miles  and  a  half  south  of  the  State  House  in  Boston.)  1839. 
Gale  of  December  15.     Civil  account.] 

Force  of  the  wind,  0  to  6.     Clouds,  0  to  10. 

14th.  Saturday  noon.  Bar.  30.038  Int.  Ther.  45.  Ext.  36.  Wind 
N.  W.  Force  2. 

Sunset.  Bar.  30.036.  Int.  Ther.  48.  Ext.  Ther.  30.  Wind  N.  W. 
Force  1.  Cloudy  4;  wane;  during  the  evening,  gathering'  to  nimbus 
a  lunar  circle  ;  hor.  diam.  40°,  elongated  toward  the  southern  part  of  the 
horizon  near  two  degrees. 

15th.  Sunrise.  Bar.  29.576.  Int.  Ther.  47£.  Ext.  30.  Wind  N.  E. 
Force  3.  Clouds  10.  Snow.  Min.  Ther.  29,  Max.  42,  for  the  pre- 
ceding 24  hours. 

Noon.  Bar.  29.422.  Int.  Ther.  50£.  Ext.  32.  WindE.N.  E.  Force 
3£.  Cloudy  10.  Snow  storm. 

Sunset.  Bar.  29.048.  Int.  Ther.  49.  Ext.  38.  Wind  E.  S.  E. 
Force  3£.  Clouds  10.  Stratus.  The  greatest  force  of  the  wind  was 
from  11  to  13  hours.  At  midnight,  the  Bar.  indicated  28.942  inches. 
Wind  from  E.  S.  E.  to  N.  E. 

16th.  Sunrise.  Bar.  29.218.  Int.  Ther.  41.  Ext.  30.  Wind  N.  E. 
Force  4.  Cloudy  10.  Snow. 

Noon.  Bar.  29.244.  Int.  Ther.  44.  Ext.  30.  Wind  N.  E.  Force 
2£.  Cloudy  10.  Snow. 

Sunset.  Bar.  29.338.  Int.  Ther.  44.  Ext.  30.  Wind  N.  N.  W. 
Force  2^-.  Cloudy  10.  Snow, 


540  APPENDIX. 

17th.  Sunrise.  Bar.  29.724.  Int.  Ther.  38.  Ext.  26.  Wind  N.  W. 
Force  1.  Clouds  7.  Wane. 

Noon.  Bar.  29.740.  Int.  Ther.  47.  Ext.  31.  Wind  N.  W.  1. 
Cloudy  0. 

Barometer  by  Gary.  Brass  scale.  Lower  surface  of  the  mercury  al- 
ways adjusted.  Diam.  of  tube,  0.18  of  an  inch.  Height  above  mean 
level  of  the  sea,  18  feet. 

33.  A  published  letter  from  Gloucester,  north  eastern  extremity  of 
Massachusetts  bay,  dated  on  Sunday  night,  says :  "  We  have  experienced 
a  most  disastrous  gale  of  wind  here  to-day,  from  E.  S.  E.     The  rain 
continues  to  pour  in  torrents,  and  the  gale  has  not  abated  any." 

At  Salern,  15  miles  from  Boston,  according  to  the  Salem  Register, 
"  During  the  day,  at  intervals,  the  wind  blew  with  tremendous  force 
from  the  eastward,  and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents." 

34.  At  Newburyport,  30  miles  N.  N.  E.  from  Boston,  according  to  the 
Newburyport  Herald,  the  storm  commenced  on  Sunday  morning,  15th, 
and  "  from  10  to  12  o'clock  on  Sunday  night,  the  wind,  which  had  shifted 
a  point  or  two  more  to  the  N.  E.,  blew  a  perfect  hurricane." 

35.  At  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  some  60  miles  N.  N.  E.  of  Boston,  in  the 
Meteorological  Journal,  published  at  that  place,  we  find  the  wind  re- 
corded, during  the  day,  at  East,  with  snow  and  rain.     In  a  Portstmouth 
paper,  this  storm  is  styled  a  "  heavy  N.  E.  gale. 

[Portland,  Maine,  by  Lemuel  Moody.  Esq.] 

36.  December  14th.     Commenced,  with   moderate  N.  W.   winds, 
clear  and  pleasant.     Noon,  quite  calm.     P.  M.,  light  northern  airs,  clear 
but  at  times  a  few  clouds.     Evening,  cloudy.     Thermometer  at  sunrise, 
25  degrees.     At  noon,  32  degrees,  at  8,  P.  M.,  25,  in  the  true  current  of 
air. 

Sunday,  15th,  at  7,  A.  M.,  a  fresh  breeze  from  N.  E.  and  cloudy,  with 
flurries  of  snow,  at  11,  A.  M.  Wind  east,  with  moderate  rain.  At  12, 
noon,  quite  a  gale,  and  heavy  rain  ;  wind  all  the  afternoon,  E.  by  S.,  to 
E.  N.  E.,  rainy,  and  at  times  snow ;  powerful  wind ;  snow  falling  mode- 
rately through  the  night,  with  a  strong  gale  from  E.  N.  E.  to  N.  E. 

The  Journal  of  the  Portland  Observatory,  says  :  14th.  Light  N.  W. 
wind  and  clear;  noon,  nearly  calm;  P.  M.,  light  N.  W.  airs;  evening 
cloudy.  15th.  In  the  morning,  strong  N.  E.  wind" and  some  snow  ;  at 
11,  A.  M.,  wind  east  with  heavy  rain  ;  P.  M.,  E.  by  S.,  gale  still  contin- 
ued ;  in  the  evening  wind  shifted  to  the  N.  E.  and  snow  fell  most  of  the 
night,  with  no  abatement  of  the  gale.  16th,  N.  E.  storm  continued 
through  the  day,  snow  not  falling  very  fast  but  strong  wind ;  evening, 
storm  ceased. 

37.  [Eastport  Maine.     From  the  Sentinel.] 

Day.        Barometer.  Thermometer.  Winds.  Weather. 

7  A.  M.  2  P.  M.  10  P.  M.  7  A.  M.  2  P.  M.   10  P.  M. 

15,  29.92    29.75    29.63  36        38        37  N.  E.  Rain. 

16,  29.48    29.45    29.49  34        37        35  N.  E.  Rain. 


DECEMBER  STORM. 


541 


[Waterville  College,  (Me.)  by  George  W.  Keely.] 


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NNE. 

NNE. 

14th.  Sunrise,  cloudy.  Do.  during  most  of  the  day.  Corona  round 
the  moon  at  8,  P.  M. 

15th.  Sunrise,  clouded,  snowing;  very  little  snow  falls;  a  very  little 
falls  at  times  during  the  day. 

]6th.  Strong  wind  during  past  night,  and  considerable  snow  fallen; 
snow  falls  during  most  of  forenoon,  then  ceases;  perhaps  in  the  whole 
five  inches  fallen,  much  drifted.  Evening  wind,  N.  N.  E. 

[From  J.  Steeper,  Esq.,  Editor  of  Boston  Evening  Journal.] 

DEAR  SIR, —  I  have  learned  to  day,  that  the  ship  Robin  Hood,  was 
out  in  the  gale  of  the  15th  December,  1839,  to  the  eastward  of  the  south- 
ern point  of  Nova  Scotia,  say  300  miles  off.  The  gale  was  tremend- 
ously heavy  there,  and  the  ship  was  near  foundering ;  wind  from  the 
eastward. 

38.  At  Concord,  N.  H.,  Mr.  M.  G.  Thomas.     At  5,  A.  M.,  of  15th, 
the  ground  was  covered  with  snow;  wind  varying  from  E.  to  N.     At 
noon,  strong  N.  E. ;  and  in  P.  M.,  wind  very  violent  from  N.  of  N.  E. 
On  16th,  strong  most  of  the  day,  and  abated  N. ;  snow  twenty  inches 
deep  by  night. 

39.  At  Springfield,  N.  H.,  Mr.  J.  Nevins  gives  the  wind  during  the 
whole  day  of  15th,  a  little  N.  of  E.,  and  the  same  on  16th  ;  and  he  says 
the  wind  was  very  strong,  throwing  the  snow  into  heaps.     Commenced 
snowing  very  fast  at  4£,  A.  M.  of  15th,  continuing  till  night  of  16th. 

At  Smithtown,  Long  Island,  near  the  middle,  Mr.  Mills  gives  the  wind 
N.  E.,  with  snow  in  the  morning,  N.  W.  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  clear- 
ing up.  Snow  two  feet  deep,  much  drifted. 

40.  At  Burlington,  Mr.  Thompson  by  Mr.  E.  Mills,  P.  M.,  gives  the 
wind  all  day  the  15th,  N.  E.,  and  on  16th,  N.,  with  snow  all  day  the  15th 
and  morning  of  16th,  wind  not  strong  enough  to  drift  the  snow  materi- 
ally on  14th.     Wind  N.  W.,  0.73 inches  of  water  fell. 

41.  At  Bennington,  Mr.  J.  Hunt  says,  on  15th,  snow,  wind  N.  W. 
16th.  snow,  wind  N.  W.,  snow  twenty  inches  deep.     There  was  but  lit- 
tle wind.     And  Mr.  Kellog  says,  on  the  15th,  the  wind  was  N.  W.,  very 
gentle,  and  snow  fell  during  the  storm,  two  feet  deep. 


542 


APPENDIX. 


[Amherst,  Mass,  by  Professor  E.  S.  Snell.] 
1839.  Bar.      Ther.       Wind. 

Dec.  14,        9,  A.  M.        29.78        30°        N.  W.          Some  haze  in  South. 
«     14,        3,  P.  M.        29.77        36         N.  W.         Thinly  clouded  over, 

moving    from    S.   W. 
Snow  began  in  night. 
"     15,        9.  A.M.        29.36        26         N.byW.    Snows    fast  from    W. 

ofN. 
"     15,        3,  P.  M.        29.00        28         N.  by  W.     No  abatement  of  the 

storm. 
"     15,        7.  P.  M.        28.90  Bar.  begins  to  ascend 

slow  after  7. 
"     16,        9,  A.  M.        29.14        28         N.  W.         Storm  continues  with 

some  abatement. 

«     16,        3,  P.  M.        29.26        28         N.  W.         Snows  but  little  after 

noon,  clears  at  evening, 
18  inches  of  snow,  mak- 
ing 2.65  inches  water. 

All  Sunday,  (15th,)  the  wind  was  slightly  W.  of  N.    I  did  not  per- 
ceive it  N.  E.  at  all. 

43.  At  Northampton,  Mr.  C.  A.  Hall  says,  during  the  storm  of  15th, 
the  wind  was  very  strong  and  north  exactly,  or  if  it  varied  at  all,  it  was 
a  little  east  of  north.     It  began  about  1,  A.  M.,  and  the  barometer  fell 
from  29.88  to  29.05,  and  Mr.  Shepherd  gives  the  wind  N.  all  day,  with 
barometer  lowest  at  4£,  P.  M.,  having  fallen  from  the  eve  of  14,  from 
29.94  to  29.13,  and  on  16th,  N.  all  day,  cloudy. 

44.  Mr.  Gideon  Welles,  of  Hartford,  says:  "During  the  storm  of  the 
15th,  the  wind  blew  from  the  north  west  during  the  whole  day.     To- 
wards evening  it  varied  a  point,  perhaps,  towards  the  north." 


Mr.  George  Halsey,  of  River  Head,  near  the  eastern  end  of  Long 
Island,  says,  on  the  14th,  at  8,  P.  M.,  the  wind  was  E.  S.  E.,  at  1  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  of  15,  due  E.,  and  at  2,  do. ;  commenced  snowing.  At  10,  wind 
N.,  afternoon. 

At  Providence,  R.  I.,  according  to  the  observations  of  Professor  Cas- 
well,  of  Brown  University,  the  wind  on  the  15th  was  "brisk  at  N.  E., 
which  continued  till  2,  P.  M.  The  barometer  continued  to  fall  till  4, 
P.  M.,  and  remained  stationary  till  near  7,  P.  M.,  and  the  wind  still  at 
N.  E.  and  cloudy."  The  Professor  adds,  "1  am  not  particular  to  mark 
the  exact  point  of  compass,  nor,  indeed,  have  I  any  means  of  doing  so." 
It  appears  probable  that  this  locality  was  in  or  near  the  border  of  central 
lull,  after  2,  P.  M. 

At  Middletown,  Ct.,as  I  am  informed  by  Professor  Smith  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  University,  the  gale  set  in  at  N.  N.  E.,  and  continued  to  snow  and 
blow  very  hard  during  the  15th;  the  wind  rather  veered  round  to  N.,  in 
which  quarter  the  wind  was  very  strong  at  the  close  of  the  day. 

At  Nashua,  N.  H.  on  the  Merrimack,  as  we  are  informed  by  the  Nashua 
Telegraph,  "  the  storm  of  the  15th  was  from  N.  E." 

Mr.  Redfield  says:  At  Athens,  Hudson  and  Catskill, from  information 
on  which  I  can  place  implicit  reliance,  the  wind  at  this  time  was  north, 


MR.  ESPiPS  PAPER  READ  TO  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.    543 

and  near  New  Haven,  Ct.,  off  the  light  house,  Captain  Woolsey,  of  the 
steam  boat  Providence,  informs  me  that  on  Sunday  afternoon  till  near 
sunset,  the  wind  was  strong  at  N.  N.  W. ;  but  at  9,  P.  M.,  it  had  veered 
to  N.  W.  and  was  very  heavy. 

[From  the  Boston  Mercantile  Journal.] 

Mr.  Editor  — I  learn  from  your  paper  of  the  14th  inst.,  that  Mr.  Espy 
stated  in  his  late  lectures,  that  the  observations  of  the  storm  of  December 
15th,  which  I  published,  "  were  taken  in  the  evening  after  the  storm 
had  passed  away ;"  and  that  to  prove  any  thing,  these  observations 
"  should  have  been  made  in  the  middle  of  the  day." 

To  answer  this,  I  need  only  say,  first,  that  on  putting  down  the  obser- 
vations made  at  noon  on  that  day,  I  find  the  same  general  result  as  in  the 
statements  and  diagram  before  published,  viz  :  a  circuitous  course  in  the 
wind  which  was  moving  around  the  centre  of  the  storm :  This  centre,  at 
noon,  being  of  course  in  a  different  location  from  that  found  at  sunset. 

W.  C.  REDFIELD. 

New  York,  ISth  Jan.  1840. 

Mr.  Redfield  says  this  storm  blew  in  a  great  circuit  round  its  central 
portion  in  the  direction  which  is  contrary  "to  the  hands  of  a  watch  which 
lies  with  its  face  upwards,  as  is  found  to  be  the  case  in  all  gales  which 
he  has  examined,  not  excepting  even  those  upon  which  Mr.  Espy  is  ac- 
customed to  rely,  in  his  attempts  to  sustain  his  favorite  hypothesis  of  a 
centripetal  motion  ! !  Let  the  candid  reader  judge  who  makes  hypothe- 
ses. I  disclaim  them. 


D. 

Mr.  E spy's  Paper ,  read  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Asso- 
ciation. 

[From  the  London  Athenaeum,  Oct.  1840.] 

Mr.  Espy  read  a  paper  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  to 
show  that  the  four  fluctuations  of  the  barometer  which  occur  daily,  are 
produced  entirely  by  the  increasing  and  diminishing  elasticity  of  the  air, 
due  to  increasing  and  diminishing  temperature.  When  the  sun  rises, 
the  air  begins  to  expand  by  heat ;  this  expansion  of  the  air,  especially  of 
that  near  the  surface  of  the  earth,  lifts  the  strata  of  air  above,  which  will 
produce  a  reaction,  causing  the  barometer  to  rise  ;  and  the  greatest  rise 
of  the  barometer  will  take  place  when  the  increase  of  the  heat  in  the 
lower  parts  of  the  atmosphere  is  the  most  rapid,  probably  about  nine  or 
ten,  A.  M.  The  barometer,  from  that  time,  will  begin  to  fall ;  and  at  the 
moment  when  the  air  is  parting  with  its  heat  as  fast  as  it  receives  it,  the 
barometer  will  indicate  the  exact  weight  of  the  atmosphere.  The  bar- 
ometer, however,  will  continue  to  descend  on  account  of  the  diminishing 
tension  of  the  air,  and  consequent  sinking  upon  itself,  as  the  evening  ad- 
vances, and  its  greatest  depression  will  be  at  the  moment  of  the  most 
rapid  acceleration  of  diminution  of  temperature,  which  will  be  about  4  or 
5  o'clock.  At  this  moment  the  barometer  will  indicate  a  less  pressure 
than  the  true  weight  of  the  atmosphere.  The  whole  upper  parts  of  the 
atmosphere  have  now  acquired  a  momentum  downwards,  which  will 


544  APPENDIX. 

cause  the  barometer  to  rise  above  the  mean,  as  the  motion  diminishes, 
which  must  take  place  some  time  in  the  night.  This  rise  will  be  small, 
however,  compared  with  that  at  9  or  10  A.  M.  As  the  barometer  now 
stands  above  the  mean,  it  must  necessarily  descend  to  the  mean  at  the 
moment  when  the  air  is  neither  increasing  nor  diminishing  in  tempera- 
ture, which  will  be  a  little  before  sunrise.  If  this  is  a  true  explanation 
of  the  four  daily  fluctuations  of  the  barometer,  it  will  follow  that  the 
morning  rise  ought  to  be  greater  at  considerable  elevations,  provided 
they  are  not  too  great,  because  some  of  the  air  will  be  lifted  above  the 
place  of  observation ;  and  such  was  found  to  be  the  case  by  Col.  Sykes,1 
in  India.  As  this  morning  rise  of  the  barometer  depends  on  the  increas- 
ing elasticity  of  the  air,  and  this  increasing  elasticity,  on  heat,  Mr.  Espy 
proposed  to  the  mathematicians  to  calculate  how  much  the  whole  atmos- 
phere is  heated  from  sunrise  till  the  time  when  the  barometer  stands 
highest,  the  actual  rise  of  the  barometer  being  given.  In  this  way,  as 
refraction  is  affected  by  temperature,  meteorology  may  assist  astronomy. 

Professor  Forbes  doubted  the  correctness  of  Mr.  Espy's  views  of  the 
cause  of  the  great  daily  fluctuation  of  the  barometer  at  elevated  stations; 
for,  towards  two  or  three  o'clock,  the  heat  being  greatest,  its  effect  in 
lifting  up  the  inferior  air  to  and  above  the  elevated  station  should  then 
be  greatest,  whereas  that  time  of  the  day  was  nearer  to  the  time  of  min- 
imum height  of  barometer  than  its  maximum. 

To  this  Mr.  Espy  answers,  that  at  very  great  elevations,  it  is  probable 
from  the  theory  there  would  be  only  two  fluctuations  in  a  day,  the  max- 
imum at  the  moment  of  the  greatest  heat,  and  the  minimum,  at  the  mo- 
ment of  the  greatest  cold.  But  at  moderate  elevations,  such  as  from 
1800  to  2000  feet,  the  effect  would  be  to  prolong  the  time  of  maximum  a 
few  minutes  at  the  upper  station,  so  that  it  might  still  be  rising  above, 
after  it  began  to  descend  below. 

Experiments  were  wanting  to  determine  this  matter. 

The  principle  itself,  as  a  vera  causa,  is  too  plain  to  admit  of  doubt.  It 
is  the  mere  application  of  the  law  that  "action  and  reaction  are  equal 
and  in  opposite  directions." 

It  might,  however,  be  illustrated  in  the  following  manner. 

Let  a  person  balance  himself  in  a  pair  of  large  scales,  in  a  stooping  po- 
sition. Now  he  cannot  raise  himself  erect,  without  causing  the  scale  in 
which  he  stands  to  descend,  he  cannot  come  to  rest  in  an  erect  position 
without  his  scale  again  rising,  to  equilibrium.  He  cannot  stoop  down 
again,  after  a  balance,  without  his  scale  rising,  at  the  moment  his  motion 
downwards  commences,  he  cannot  diminish  his  velocity  downwards, 
without  increasing  his  pressure  on  the  scale  beyond  his  natural  weight, 
and  causing  his  scale  to  descend  again  beyond  equilibrium;  and  finally 
he  cannot  come  to  rest  without  producing  equilibrium;  and  thus  he 
will  produce  four  oscillations  of  the  balance  by  one  upward  and  one 
downward  motion  of  his  body,  corresponding  to  one  expansion  and  one 
contraction  of  the  air  in  the  day. 

1  Col.  Sykes  found  the  nocturnal  falling  minimum  tide  from  10  — 11,  P.  M., 
to  4  -  5,  A.  M.,  at  Poona,  .0181  inches  from  about  2000  to  1800  feet  high  ;  and 
the  diurnal  rising  tide,  from  4  — 5,  A.  M.,  to 9  — 10,  A.  M.,  .0445  inches;  and 
at  the  height  of  4500  feet,  he  crives  these  same  tides  .0240  and  .0636,  and  at  the 
height  of  6407  feet,  .0433  and  .0490,  as  observed  by  Dr.  Walker  and  M.  Dal- 
jnahoy.  fRoy.  Phil.  Trans,  for  1835  p.  196.] 


PHENOMENA  OF  AN  AURORA. 


545 


Phenomena  of  an  Aurora., 

Which  appeared  at  Woolwich,  ten  miles  east  of  London,  and  at  Gosport 
Observatory,  75  miles  S.  W.  of  London,  on  7th  of  January,  1831. 
(See  Phil.  Mag.,  vol.  9.) 


Hour. 

G<f  sport 
Time. 


GOSPORT. 


WOOLWICH. 


Hours.    Mia. 

5     15 


5    30 


Arch  of  refulgent  light  10° 
high. 

Bright  flame-colored,  rain- 
bow-like arch,  3°  or  4°  broad, 
rose  from  the  upper  edge  of  au- 
rora to  the  height  of  35°,  and. 


Arch  of  faint  yellowish  light, 
not  more  than  10°  high,  dense 
black  area  below  it  to  horizon. 

As  above,  only  a  little  higher 
arid  more  brilliant  and  darting, 
>ccasional  faint  flashes  from  a 
bright  and  apparently  steady 


5  35 

5  40 

5  45 
6 

6 

6  5 
6  30 


at  the   same  time,  a  beautiful  luminous  curve 

rainbow-like   arch   formed   10° 

south  of  the  zenith,  by  streamers 

suddenly  springing  up  from  the 

N.  E.  by  E.  and  W.by  S.  points 

of  horizon,  meeting. 

This  arch  began  to  break  up 
nto  patches  and  pass  off  to  the 
south,  continuing  in  sight  15 
minutes. 

Another  arch,  in  all  respects 
ike  the  former,  formed  in  the 
same  place. 

This  last  bow  had  moved 
south  to  45°  altitude. 

It  was  near  the  S.  horizon 
lardly  visible. 

Bow  over  the  aurora  much 
ncreased  in  altitude  and  nearly 
effaced. 

A  great  many  colored  col- 
imns  of  light  rose  from  the 
N.  E.  and  N.  W.,  and  passed 
he  zenith,  and  the  aurora  sunk 
o wards  the  horizon. 

Aurora  increased   in  altitude 


As  before. 


As  before. 


As  before. 
As  before. 
As  before. 


As  before,  rising  a  little. 


A  second,  and  apparently 

ind  vivid  corruscations  radiated  concentric  arch,  of  bright  light, 
rom  every  part  of  the  arch,  and  made  its  appearance  10°aliove 
on  mingling  with  each  other,  the  auroral  arch,or20°higli,nnd 
ormed  wide  columns  which  soft  lambent  streamers  played 
were  so  grand  with  crimson  from  the  lower  even  beyond  the 
ints  as  to  astonish  every  spec-  upper,  but  not  so  as  to  obliter- 
alor.  ale  the  distinction  of  the  two. 

Between      The  aurora  had  spread  over       As   before,   only   the   arch 
7&8  jtwo  thirds  of  the  heavens,  when  rose   to  24°,  and  the  auroral 
69 


546 


APPENDIX. 


Hours. 

Gosport 

Time. 


GOSPORT. 


WOOLWICH, 


Hours.    Min, 


7    55 


9 

9  30 

9  45 

10  25 

10  45 


11 


large  perpendicular  columns 
and  short  pointed  corrusca- 
tions,  rising  from  the  aurora  ir 
nearly  parallel  rows,  all  passec 
through  red,  orange,  lake,  crim- 
son, green,  and  purple  tints. 

Another    rainbow-like    arch 
stretched    across    the    heavens 
from  the  eastern   point  of  th 
horizon,  and  passed  off  to  the 
south. 

The  aurora  gradually  dimin- 
shed,  and  a  large  tenebrous 
space  in  and  near  the  horizon 
on  each  side  of  magnetic  north 
appeared. 

Aurora  rose  again,  and  wide 
columns  rose  from  every  part  of 
its  arch,  and  passed  through  the 
same  colors  as  before. 

As  before. 


light,   14°,  keeping  the  same 
distance  apart. 


As  before. 


As  before. 


As  before. 


As  before. 


As  before. 

Grand  display  of  12  or    14 

olumns  glowing  from  the  au- 

ora,  some  passing  the  zenith. 

and  a  perfectly  red  rainbow-like 

arch  appeared   10°  above   the 

aurora. 


Another  bow,  31-2°  wide, 
rose  from  the  aurora,  and  soon 
reached  the  zenith  and  gradu- 
ally disappeared. 


Increased  in  splendor ;  shot 
up  streamers  from  external 
bow  nearly  to  zenith. 

A  faint  stream  of  light  kin- 
dled in  the  eastern  extremity 
of  external  bow,  and  in  a  mo- 
nent  described  an  arch  of 
100°  through  the  tail  of  U.M, 

Similar  streamers  from  the 
western  end  of  exterior  arch. 

Streak  of  bright  light,  like  a 
yellowish  cloud,  stretched  hor- 
zontally  towards  the  east,  a 
noment  after  a  streamer  kin- 
dled at  its  eastern  extremity, 
nd  shot  -gradually  upwards 
jast  the  meridian,  undulatory 
trearners  began  to  play  in  ev- 
ery part  of  the  north,  reaching 
learly  to  the  zenith,  dense  cen- 
ral  darkness  disappeared,  and 
>right  light  reached  horizon 
or  first  time. 

Dark  spot  again  appeared, 
with  bright  streamers  from  its 
upper  side. 


ATMOSPHERICAL  PHENOMENA.  547 

[Aurora  of  17th  November,  1835.] 

At  Schenectady,  New  York,  it  rained  or  snowed  every  day,  from  the 
10th  till  the  16th,  and  on  the  17th,  there  was  a  brilliant  aurora  at  Ger- 
tnantown,  reaching  from  the  north  star  to  the  zenith,  when,  at  the  same 
time,  precisely,  at  Philadelphia,  five  miles  south  of  Germantown,  the  au- 
rora was  very  faint,  and  did  not  reach  above  Lyra,  Polaris,  and  Capella. 
At  New  York,  it  reached  from  the  northern  horizon,  12°  south  of  the 
zenith, and  along  the  horizon  to  south  by  east,  and  south  by  west;  while 
at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  as  described  by  Professor  Caswell,  it  never 
extended  beyond  the  zenith,  and  only  reached  along  the  horizon  as  far 
as  N.  W.  and  N.  E.  All  these  have  been  evidently  different  auroras, 
they  must  have  been  low  in  the  atmosphere. 

The  preceding  phenomena,  and  many  others,  which  1  have  not  room 
to  insert,  render  it  certain  that  the  aurora  is  sometimes  low  in  the  atmos- 
phere. 

[From  the  Edinburgh  New  Philosophical   Journal,  for  October  to  January, 
Itf40,  page  413.] 

Mr.  E  spy's  Theory  of  Atmospherical  Phenomena  claimed  by  Mr.  Meikle, 
of  Edinburgh.  Respecting  Mr.  Espy's  theory  of  atmospherical  phe- 
nomena, the  leading  feature  of  which',  is  the  fall  of  temperature  which 
occurs  in  an  ascending  current  of  air,  we  are  requested,  by  Mr.  Meikle, 
to  state,  that,  in  the  London  Quarterly  Journal  of  Sciences,  lor  April,  1839, 
and  in  the  article  Hygrometry  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britanica,  vol.  XII. 
p.  J32,  he  has  distinctly  laid  down  the  same  theory  in  detail,  and  accom- 
panied it  with  various  calculations  and  illustrations,  which  show  how  it 
•will  satisfactorily  accpunt,  not  only  for  the  production  of  clouds,  moun- 
tain caps,  rain,  snow,  &c.,  but  also  for  thunder,  lightning,  and  water- 
spouts, if  not  some  of  the  phenomena  of  volcanoes,  and  the  northern 
lights. 

To  do  justice  to  Mr.  Meikle's  claim,  I  have  copied  from  the  Ency. 
p.  135,  the  following  paragraphs. 

"The  sound  (in  thunder,)  may  be  partly  a  tremor,  which  the  air  sus- 
tains, at  the  moment  the  pressure  is  relaxed  by  the  vapor  suddenly  losing 
the  elastic  form,  and  may  be  partly  a  tremor  due  to  an  effort  of  the  elec- 
tricity to  make  its  escape  from  the  cloud. 

Page  134.  "It  is  evident  that  moisture  which  has  ascended  in  the 
form  of  transparent  vapor,  and  descended  again  as  rain,  snow,  &c.,  must 
have  left  its  latent  heat  above.  But  much  heat,  no  doubt,  moves  upward 
from  its  natural  propensity  to  render  the  atmosphere  of  one  temperature 
throughout  its  whole  height,  and  from  the  tendency  of  warmer  air  to 
rise  above  the  colder.  There  is,  therefore,  good  reason  for  concluding 
that  air  which  has  just  been  elevated  and  dilated  should  be  thereby  re- 
duced to  a  much  lower  temperature,  than  what  obtains  in  air,  which  has 
remained  at  that  elevation  for  some  considerable  time,  receiving  heat  from 
below,  from  the  sun,  or  other  sources." 

The  principle  of  the  dew  point  has  many  applications  highly  useful. 
One  is  given  here  as  a  specimen  of  its  connexion  with  medicine. 
Others  might  be  adduced  of  its  connexion  with  the  refraction  of  light  in 
the  atmosphere,  and  of  its  power  in  predicting  a  change  of  temperature 


548  .APPENDIX. 

many  hours  before  that  change  takes  place,  by  its  sudden  rise  or  fall ; 
but  these  are  omitted  for  want  of  room. 

It  is  known  that  the  quantity  of  vapor  in  the  air,  by  weight,  may  be 
ascertained  at  any  time  by  the  dew  point.  So,  also,  the  quantity  at  any 
time  in  the  breath,  expired  from  the  lungs,  may  be  known  by  breathing 
on  a  bright  metallic  tumbler  of  water,  and  finding  the  highest  tempera- 
ture at  which  the  vapor  will  condense  upon  it. 

I  have  performed  this  experiment  frequently,  both  in  summer  and 
winter,  and  I  find  the  dew  point  of  my  breath,  and  that  of  several 
others,  94  Q  of  Fahr. 

Now,  by  examining  a  table  of  the  elastic  force  of  vapor  or  dew  points 
by  Dalton,  it  will  be  seen  that  when  the  dew  point  is  94^  the  elastic 
force  of  vapor  is  1.53  inches  of  mercury  in  the  barometer;  and  as 
vapor  is  known  to  be  only  five  eighths  the  specific  gravity  of  air,  it  may 
easily  be  calculated  that  the  vapor  in  the  breath  is  about  one  thirty-first 
part  of  the  breath  in  weight;  that  is,  of  thirty-one  pounds  of  the  breath 
expired,  if  the  dew  point  is  94°,  thirty  pounds  will  be  air,  and  one  pound 
vapor.  This  quantity  is  always  much  more  than  that  which  is  inspir- 
ed ;  for  the  dew  point  of  the  atmosphere  is  never  more  than  80g  in  this 
climate,  and  in  the  winter  it  is  sometimes  much  below  zero.  Whatever 
it  may  be,  it  can  always  be  known,  and  of  course  the  quantity  inspired 
with  different  dew  points  can  be  known.  Therefore,  if  the  quantity 
inspired  should  be  ascertained,  and  subtracted  from  the  quantity  expired, 
the  remainder  will  be  the  quantity  evaporated  from  the  lungs  them- 
selves. 

According  to  this  principle,  I  have  made  the  calculation  of  the 
quantity  of  vapor  discharged  from  the  lungs,  by  subtracting  the  quantity 
inspired  from  the  whole  quantity  expired,  supposing  the  dew  point  of 
the  breath,  on  expiration,  to  be  constantly  94°,  as  I  have  always  found 
it  to  be. 

It  results  from  this  calculation,  that  when  the  dew  point  is  32°,  we 
evaporate  from  the  lungs  one  pound  of  vapor  for  every  thirty-five 
pounds  of  air  which  we  breathe.  And  when  the  dew  point  is  75°  we 
evaporate  from  the  lungs  one  pound  for  every  sixty-nine  pounds ;  so 
that  in  summer,  when  the  dew  point  is  very  high,  we  evaporate  from 
our  lungs  only  about  half  as  much  as  we  do  in  winter,  when  the  dew 
point  is  very  low.  Moreover,  it  will  appear  by  calculating  according 
to  principles  developed  in  article  (9),  that  the  latent  caloric  contained  in 
one  pound  of  vapor,  at  the  temperature  of  the  breath  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  heat  thirty-five  pounds  of  air,  about  130°,  and  therefore  the  air 
which  we  breathe  at  the  temperature  of  32°,  brings  out  with  it  in  the 
vapor  alone,  sufficient  caloric  to  heat  it  130°.  And  if  to  this  we  add 
the  number  of  degrees  it  is  actually  heated,  from  32°  to  98Q,  it  will  ap- 
pear that  when  we  breathe  air  at  32Q,  the  lungs  part  with  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  caloric  to  heat  all  the  air  we  breathe  196°.  This  calculation 
is  made  on  the  supposition  that  no  vapor  is  generated  in  the  lungs  by 
the  union  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen. 

M.  Pouillet,  however,  (506,)  says  that  Dulong,  in  a  series  of  experi- 
ments, not  yet  published,  has  shown  that  some  oxygen  disappears  in 
respiration,  besides  that  which  unites  with  carbon  to  form  carbonic  acid, 
and  he  seems  to  think  it  probable  that  it  unites  with  hydrogen  to  form 
water ;  if  so,  it  will  modify  the  result  given  above. 

The  whole  subject  is  worthy  of  further  investigation.     If  it  should  be 


FLUCTUATION  OF  THE  BAROMETER. 

found  that  the  dew  point  of  the  breath  changes  with  some  diseases,  as  it 
certainly  must  where  the  temperature  of  the  breath  itself  sinks  below 
94°,  the  knowledge  of  this  fact  may  change  the  whole  mode  of  treat- 
ment for  the  disease.  In  the  Asiatic  cholera,  for  instance,  if  the  patient's 
breath  should  sink  below  the  dew  point,  then,  instead  of  evaporating 
water  from  the  lungs  by  breathing,  some  of  the  vapor  inspired  would 
be  condensed  there,  and  the  patient  would  die  immediately  unless  he 
were  put  into  an  atmosphere  with  a  lower  dew  point.  Who  can  tell 
without  trial  that  a  dropsical  patient  would  not  be  relieved  by  reducing 
the  dew  point  of  the  air  which  he  breathes,  and  thus  increasing  the 
quantity  of  vapor  discharged  from  the  lungs?  It  may  be  that  nature 
intends  us  to  regulate  the  quantity  of  vapor  in  the  air  of  our  parlors,  as 
we  now  do  the  temperature  or  quantity  of  caloric.  We  certainly  have 
it  in  our  power  to  do  so,  and  that  too  with  much  less  expense  and 
trouble.  Do  we  wish  to  increase  the  quantity  of  vapor,  we  have  only 
to  set  a  tin  cup  of  water  over  a  spirit  lamp.  Do  we  wish  to  diminish 
the  quantity  of  vapor,  we  can  do  it  by  placing  a  pan  of  sulphuric  acid  in 
the  room,  with  the  doors  and  windows  closed.  Or,  if  that  is  not  con- 
venient, a  quantity  of  corn  meal  or  bran,  spread  out  on  a  sheet,  having 
been  previously  dried  very  dry,  or  scorched  in  an  oven,  will  answer  the 
purpose  quite  as  well.  A  very  mistaken  notion  on  this  point  is  univer- 
sally prevalent,  that  by  putting  fire  into  a  stove  the  air  in  the  room  will 
be  dried.  Now  the  truth  is,  that  the  first  effect  of  heating  a  room  by  a 
gtove,  will  be  to  increase  the  quantity  of  vapor  in  the  air  by  evaporating 
it  from  all  the  walls  and  wooden  materials  in  the  room.  During  this 
operation  these  materials  would  become  drier,  the  dew  point  in  the 
air  would  rise;  and  then  a  patient  breathing  this  air  would  evaporate 
less  from  his  lungs  than  before. 


The  following  chart  of  the  fluctuation  of  the  barometer,  is  given  as 
a  specimen  of  the  manner  I  adopted  to  discover  in  what  direction  these 
fluctuations  move,  and  with  what  velocity.  Many  observations  are  yet 
wanting  to  make  out  a  law  on  these  points.  It  would  appear,  however, 
from  this  chart,  and  others  which  I  have  in  my  possession,  that  it  is  a 
general  rule,  when  the  barometer  falls  very  suddenly  at  Nashville  for  ten 
or  twelve  hours,  it  rises  with  great  rapidity  during  those  same  hours  at 
Middletown.  On  the  morning  of  the  29th  of  January,  for  example, 
there  was  a  very  rapid  fall  of  the  barometer  at  Nashville,  and  rise  at 
Middletown.  Now,  on  that  day,  as  appears  in  article  30,  there  was  a 
storm  of  rain,  at  Nashville,  with  the  wind  at  Philadelphia  and  Middle- 
town  blowing  towards  Nashville.  In  Loomis's  storm,  (170),  the  same 
result  is  obtained.  Besides,  I  have  examined  more  than  forty  cases  of 
great  storms  at  Baltimore,  where,  at  the  beginning  of  each  storm,  for 
many  hours,  the  barometer  fell  rapidly  at  Baltimore,  and  at  Boston, 
during  the  same  hour?,  it  rose. 


550 


APPENDIX. 


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'A 


FLUCTUATION  OF  THE  BAROMETER. 


551 


552  THE  HELM 'WIND  OF  CROSSFELL. 

On  the  Helm  Wind  of  Crossfell.     By  the  Rev.  J.  Watson.     Eighth  Report  of 
the  British  Association. 

"  This  wind  is  applied  to  a  very  violent  wind,  blowing  frequently  from  some 
eastern  point  of  the  compass,  at  the  west  side  of  the  Crossfell  range,  and 
confined,  both  in  length  and  breadth,  to  the  space  between  the  Helm  and 
Helm  Bar.  The  western  front  of  the  Helm  is  a  long,  large  roll  of  clouds, 
clearly  defined,  and  quite  separated  from  any  other  cloud  on  that  side. 

The  Bar  has  its  eastern  front  as  clearly  defined,  and  at  the  same  height. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  Bar  there  is  either  no  wind,  or  it  blows  in  a  contrary 
direction,  that  is,  from  the  west. 

Neither  the  Helm  nor  the  Bar  are  separate  or  detached  clouds,  but  rather 
the  bold,  clearly  defined  fronts  of  clouds,  extending  eastward  behind  the 
Helm,  and  westward  from  the  Bar. 

The  open  space  between  these  clouds  may  be  called  a  very  flat  ellipse,  eisrht 
or  ten,  or  even  twenty  to  thirty  miles  long,  and  from  one  half  to  four  or  five 
miles  wide.  They  appear  always  united  at  the  ends. 

The  open  space  between  the  Helm  and  Bar  is  clear  of  clouds,  with  the 
exception  of  small  pieces  breaking  off  now  and  then  from  the  Helm,  and 
driving  rapidly  over  to  the  Bar;  through  this  open  space  is  often  seen  a 
higher  stratum  of  clouds,  quite  at  rest. 

It  is  seldom  accompanied  by  rain  in  the  open  space,  and  never  continues 
long  after  it  begins  to  rain  heavily." 

If  it  should  be  ascertained  that  it  rains  on  the  top  of  Crossfell  at  the  time  of 
the  Helm  wind,  it  would  be  easy  to  explain  all  the  phenomena  mentioned 
above . 

The  weight  of  the  rain,  and  its  cooling  effect  on  the  air  under  the  Helm 
cloud,  would  depress  the  air  under  the  cloud,  and  press  it  out  on  all  sides  be- 
low, with  a  velocity  proportional  to  the  height  from  which  the  drops  fell. 
This  outward  motion  of  the  air  below  would  not  reach  to  any  considerable 
height,  and  the  air  above  would  be  running  towards  the  Helm  cloud,  and  up- 
wards in  that  cloud  to  supply  new  vapor  to  be  condensed  into  cloud  by  the 
cold  of  diminished  pressure.  The  air  which  rushes  out  from  the  falling  rain 
below,  meeting  that  which  was  coming  from  the  west,  would  soon  be  stopped 
in  its  motion  outwards,  and  in  rising  up  would  form  the  Helm  Bar ;  and  as 
it  rushed  out  from  the  very  bottom  of  the  Helm  cloud  itself,  it  would  carry 
with  it  portions  of  that  cloud  towards  the  Bar. 

Up  in  the  region  of  the  Bar  the  air  at  the  same  time  would  be  in  motion 
towards  the  Helm,  and  would  carry  portions  of  cloud  over  in  that  direction 
with  it. 

If  this  is  the  true  explanation,  several  other  facts  besides  those  mentioned 
below  will  be  found  to  exist  at  the  time.  Kain  under  the  Helm  cloud  —  a 
colder  air  between  the  Helm  cloud  and  the  Helm  Bar  than  to  the  west  of  the 
bar —  a  smaller  difference  between  the  dew  point  and  the  temperature  of  the 
air,  between  the  two  clouds,  than  on  the  west  of  the  Ear  ;  the  top  of  the  Bar 
vastly  lower  than  the  top  of  the  Helm  cloud  ;  though  their  bases  may  be  on 
the  same  horizontal  level;  the  cloud  that  passes  from  the  Helm  to  the  Bar 
underneath  the  one  which  passes  from  the  Bar  to  the  Helm  ;  the  edges  of  the 
Bar  seldom  if  ever  so  well  defined  as  the  edges  of  the  Helm,  and  never  so 
dense  nor  so  free  from  motion,  the  lower  part  of  the  Helrn  and  the  upper 
part  of  the  Bar  which  eross  over  towards  each  other,  and  frequently  a  jutting 
out  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Helm  cloud,  so  as  to  overhang  the  Bar.  If  these 
phenomena  do  not  accompany  the  Helm  wind  then  the  above  is  not  the  true 
rationale,  if  they  do,  it  is. 

It  may  still  be  asked  why  the  Bar  cloud,  when  once  formed  by  the  upward 
motion  of  the  air,  dissolves  in  a  great  measure  on  being  pressed  or  driven 
towards  the  Helm  cloud  by  the  motion  of  the  air  in  that  region.  The  answer 
is,  that  the  air  curves  downwards  in  going  from  the  Bar  to  the  Helm  as  it 
does  in  passing  across  a  hollow  between  two  mountains,  and  in  coming  under 
greater  pressure  the  cloud  is  dissolved. 


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